WA encouraging people to breed (horses ;)) this season
With a huge increase in 2yo Westbred Classics
http://www.harness.org.au/media-room...?news_id=41648
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WA encouraging people to breed (horses ;)) this season
With a huge increase in 2yo Westbred Classics
http://www.harness.org.au/media-room...?news_id=41648
News from HRV Chairman Dale Monteith
https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...ounces-profit/
This link covers:
Annual Report
Communication
Meeting with the Minister for Racing, the Hon. Martin Pakula
(and the impact of the current JV agreement)
National Ratings System
HRV Board Appointments (process)
CEO Appointment (process)
Land development at Melton
RISE sale
Elizabeth Clarke’s departure
ps HRA is worse than the forum - nothing some days then 12 stories on the one day
http://www.harness.org.au/media-room/top-stories/#lead
One of our respected posters has been working their way through the HRV Annual Report
Some of their observations in point form:
ps They are going to announce the new CEO at the Rothacker Medal but everyone already knows it is Dayle Brown
- TAB income continues to drop away. Down $2.4m but somewhat offset by the increase in 'racefield fees'(corps) and the share of POC tax.
- No statement of what the Inter cost but 'grants' up to $6m (from $2.2m) which would probably be what the Govt tipped in to finance it. Marketing, etc costs up because of inter.
- Legal fees down ��������
- Swabs costs UP by a decent %. How?? They did heaps less last season. Maybe they were not testing swabs taken before? No way could be up that much based on the number of swabs done last year
- Salaries up 12% but number of employees seems to have remained constant. 12% seems a huge rise. Maybe all new the 'integrity' people?
- Breeders crown payments down by 20%+
- Overall they have done a good job to put on the Inter and show a profit. They state that prizemoney paid is up but the addition of the Inter would have been a big factor there. It didn't go backwards so you could give it a pass
Just when Trotguide is singing the praises of the new NR system in reducing long odds on favourites, we have two $1.10 and one $1.20 at Melton last night
Rothacker Medal Night. I have been told that the Racing Minister did the same as last year - walked in, made his speech and left soon after.
He had been at Phillip Island for the bike Grand Prix all day though so he was probably tired. Minister for Racing must include motor bikes?!
He doesn't seem to care a lot for the trots and it's people
I’m not a fan of the bloke Kev but I think he is also some sort of sports minister now.
Was doing such a great job with racing you can see why you would want him involved with other sports.
Lawn bowls will be on its knees soon.
Melbourne Cup Day at Yarra Valley is probably our biggest attended event of the year with 5000 people out there.
"It's just a wonderful day with all the things you would expect at a Flemington event. The Fashions on the Field and the racing and the big screens, there are just no queues - that's the beauty about it."
https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...the-thousands/
The problem is that they are not there for the trots :( Hopefully the grass races will have a few more even watch a race
Too often our webpage managers are FAILING US
Have a look at HRA's home page right now!
It is late on November 6
2 of the 3 rotating Featured news stories are previews for the Gloucester Park meet run 5 days ago on Nov 1
This is a waste of the homepage and total neglect of duties
(if you click on news you will see they have more recent stories that they could be highlighting)
On the back page of The Age today
Peter Ryan makes the following point
When I fell in love with the sport, most races were bet upon and shown at the TAB, the weekend punter making his trip to the TAB before listening to the nags on the radio at home.
Now, racing is broadcast constantly, bets can be laid on phones easily and the advertising is so thick and constant that a perfectly reasonable response from a parent is to shield their children from betting ...
No doubt the perks we enjoy nowadays are not all bad but his point about advertising is IMO a valid one
The "Herald Sun" often has 5 or 6 full pages of punting ads, you wonder how they can afford it !
What's his point mean though?Quote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
I think he is suggesting that betting overkill could be making betting, even racing, something that parents tell their children is bad
Well the children ain't listening.Quote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
https://www.savings.com.au/savings-a...ics-australia/
Fiona Guthries quote telling.
I guess we won't really know until the children of the last few years get older and if there was a decline in the number of punters as a % of population we still wouldn't know if overkill had anything to do with it
Only 2 heats per night for the pacers and trotters says something IMO
I was thinking that $30kNZ ($28kAUS) was not much more than they race for at Menangle but not being a NSW follower I thought I would check - it seems as though NSW has caught the VIC bug with plenty of races of varying (lower) prizemoney
Mind you every Tuesday race is for $9,180 unlike in Vic where some of ours are for HALF this
I got to thinking while I was watching a Western the other day, about how I grew up with the advent of Television and how Westerns used to be such a major genre.
Horses were a vital part of Westerns IMO. It made me wonder whether my appreciation of horses could in some way have been influenced by Westerns (and no doubt The Showgrounds)
I probably shouldn't put Showgrounds in brackets because for even those who did not attend the trots, The Show was a lot more about animals - horses etc in the old days
I am approaching mid 60's and I can remember horses being in our outer Melbourne suburb - I can ever remember the milky used to deliver bottled milk in the morning with the draught horse pulling the cart, the star of the show
Animal circuses with plenty of horses were even common place, the reserve on the corner of our road would host a couple a year in the early years of my life
People older than me would have had far more exposure to horses even in the Metro area, my grandfather used a horse drawn cart in his job doing road repairs in South Melbourne!
Anyway, I was thinking that the lack of horses (screen or otherwise) in the lives of younger generations and figured that in some small way it has probably played a part in the decline in racing
Racing marketing is a lot more about betting than the animals nowadays and maybe it has to be as the younger generations are not that attracted to horses.
Before anyone says it, I know some would say they are but do not believe in the racing concept
We all know that the multitude of entertainment alternatives since Showgrounds days is a bigger factor but that Western just got me thinking (unusual ;))
Disgusting. One of Australia's biggest four year old races The Golden Nugget and not a mention of it anywhere. An exciting race, fast time and yet not a mention.
It is not hard to understand where my beliefs on where harness racing is heading.
For those that missed itQuote:
Originally Posted by Mighty Atom
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fie...19#GPM13121902
Agree entirely Rod, perhaps it was a victim of race programming as it was on the same weekend as the Inter-Dominions. Lack of media coverage was in stark contrast to the inaugural Golden Nugget in January 1981, one of the greatest promotional successes I have seen in five decades of following the trots.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mighty Atom
Ray Holloway was a master at promotion and Channel 9 sponsored the race, which included two rounds of heats. The WATA chartered and Ansett Air Freight Lockheed Electra to fly over 4 invited "Eastern States" horses. The four were Justin Hanover, which won the Final, Crystal Glenmar, Tiger Apollo and NSW pacer Allears. I was fortunate enough to be on the plane chaperoning a couple of high-priced NZ youngsters to there new home in Perth. When the side door of the Electra opened we we greeted by a Channel 9 news crew and various newspaper reporters.
Nightly reports featured on Ch 9 News and the crowds at Gloucester Park for the three race meetings was Inter-sized.
And, Rod, if you hadn't mentioned it we probably wouldn't have known the event had been run this year!
On a positive note, 4 of the first 5 finishers were WA bred and the other NSW, this race has been won by Kiwi breds more often that Aussie breds over the years I would hazard a guess.
I noticed the customary abundance of 'NZ' missing too Dan - an encouraging sign for local breeders
I know some of them were getting on a bit but some well known names gone
http://www.harnesslink.com/New-Zeala...ent-to-America
Below is a pic of what I see when I open
https://www.tab.com.au/
It really irks me that I have to use the arrow to even see the Harness Icon.
And even then we come after MLB - what is that you might ask = Major League Baseball
If we actually rank 9th so be it but otherwise our administrators should be jumping up and down
Kevin, this has been annoying me too ! Surely racing, trots and dogs should be the first 3. It slows you down when trying to get a bet on.
Another problem that I have informed them about is on the android phone app they do not display the handicaps for the standing start trotting races. So it appears that all horses are starting from the front when some are of 10, 20 or 30 meters . I have to switch to the HRV site to check the handicaps. They show up on the desktop site ok. I don't know about the iphone app as I don't use one. They haven't fixed it yet.
I hardly touch my phone but I have a suggestion that once solved a problem for me Rick. Have you tried turning your phone ie to landscape position, to see if more info is supplied that way
Good spot Kev, the same thing was bothering me just last night. Harness racing listed between NBA and Two Flies Crawling Up A Wall.
Just tried that and no different, they just don't care about harness racing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
I contacted Dayle Brown about this and was told he was going to get somebody onto it BUT no changeQuote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
Today on the banner we see PROMOTIONS, TODAYS RACING (gallops), AFL, TODAYS GREYHOUNDS, EPL, ATP HAMBURG, NBA PLAYOFFS, MLB (then arrow to the also rans like us)
It is Monday afternoon and we are racing and surely taking more than some of these international sports right now
So we should be easy to find RIGHT NOW - we should be on the first banner
Even on phones with a short banner it should be easier
The following pic is an old one from the original post but you get what I am talking about - still no sign of Harness
I reminder that you should only ever consider horse ownership for fun NOT money
Tornado Valley despite winning 2 Great Southern Stars and an Interdominion has still not won $1m
Our Princess Tiffany last night became only the 10th Australasian-bred mare to win $1m
From today's Breeders Bulletin
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pl...rHNbgcwdLhGSrg
A 20% increase in price for the trotters and 85% clearance rate was a great way to start the day. The pacers achieved a similar average to last year with the sale achieving an amazing clearance rate of 95%.
Yes, I mentioned the 95% in the Breeding forum, do you think it was because there was only 100 lots
Why was there only 100?
The Nutrien Sale. April 10 and 11. Many of the big breeders have switched over to the Nutrien sale.Quote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
https://www.nutrienequine.com.au/nut...ing-sale-2021/
Oh yes, 285 lots even after withdrawalsQuote:
Originally Posted by Adaptor
And good news from Day 1 of the NZ Yearling Sale:Quote:
Originally Posted by Adaptor
Day One of trading at the 2021 National Yearling Sale kicked off with a strong benchmark after the Sale broke NZB Standardbred records selling 107 lots for a total turnover of $5,370,500, increasing more than 20% on last year’s aggregate.
The average rose to $50,192, with the median increasing to $40,000, while the clearance rate settled at a standout 82%.
I just got an email from Racenet about a new login so I visited their site for the first time for yonks
And noticed that they now do the Dogs too
No sign of Harness :confused:
https://www.racenet.com.au/
This is supposed to be a good news story
http://www.harnesslink.com/Australia...-into-blessing
But when I hear how many of them are contributing to the operation for $28k prizemoney in about 3 months - I can't help feel like it is chicken feed
I know in our industry that 30 starters for $28k IS considered good
Normally you would assume they are getting better training fees than this from the owners - owners literally 'support' trainers, but Adam owns the horses he races so I am thinking the prizemoney is pretty much it
Despite these good results the stable cannot be affording a luxurious lifestyle after you take out all the expenses
There can of course be additional returns from 'the punt' for some but that is called gambling
Oh the love of the game
Training horses reminds me of the old stories of men fulfilling their dream to buy a pub but then struggling to make ends meet
Of course I am reading a lot into this story and do not really know their circumstances
I know money is not everything and the joy of doing what you love (while surviving) is reward in itself but I would like success to be better than that
Another $5k in the skyrocket for Adam tonight
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fie...21#BAC25032109
I'm ignoring the good on this thread just too hard to find the bad and ugly on the other hand. Gloucester Park harness racing what a pathetic joke it has become the same old horses lining up week after week boring racing doesn't infuse any excitement what so ever. Far too many racing programs in the country and city where declaring the quality of horse mediocre would be overly magnanimous. The trotting races are an absolute joke field dominated by the same one or two trainers making up most of the field.
There are probably 8-10 horses racing in WA where you would be bothered to cross the road to watch a race.
I just can't imagine one Millenial even knowing what harness racing was about let alone being an active participant. No chance of getting a younger generation interested in harness racing WA. Greyhound racing now takes precedence over Harness racing Australia wide especially on racing channels like sky racing one.
Serious change is needed otherwise harness racing eventually will exist no more.
The new moderate 'PeterProfit' has been writing about the health or otherwise of HRV.
The articles have in the main been well written (I have been wondering whether Archie has been getting some sleep or whether the articles are in fact him)
Today he makes the point that the improved prizemoney in Vic in the last 10yrs has been due to government grants in the vicinity of $8m
He suggests that when Covid is finally beaten the reality is going to be that the government is in a big black hole and budgets are going to be cut all over town. He goes on to say that as much as we think harness is important, it is not to anyone else - even those in the broader racing industry and certainly pales when compared to things like hospital funding
I know you could counter that government earn a take from harness gambling but he could well be right
The long and the short of it is, that he is saying that if we don't want to see prizemoney or tracks cut - we need to work on a plan now
Maybe this is an answer. Toohard sent me this link. Horses as a tax deduction. Maybe this explains big prices like $800k for trotting fillies at the Lexington yearling sales
https://ctba.com/race-horse-depreciation-extended/