U be the judge

[broncobrad]

Writing about drivers not respecting others on the track with them, try Race 4 Maitland 7/01/12. Going into the 1st turn. River Valley Romance the offender this time. Whos Escaped on the receiving end.

Norman thanks for taking the time to have a look at that race I'd mentioned and Scott you are right in saying the offender was suspended,. What I was trying to point out to Bonnie who felt agrieved at the treatment her horse was allegedly copping, was nothing in respect of what River Valley Romance had to deal with. I don't want to get on here and be picking apart every little thing I see that I think is a bit rough but in this case I have to (and by the way I have no vested interest whatsoever). RVR pushed for the lead unnsuccessfully, tries to slot in 1/1, but the death horse kicks up (twice), holds RVR out and and he eventually rolls to the lead. Then Franco Bulgari who missed the start badly takes off on mission impossible to put more pressure on RVR, so RVR has to take a sit 'cos the speed is unsustainable. Then as you saw, the leader hangs out on final top turn and RVR goes for the run and gets smashed, and with no head-on vision I don't know if there was room or not. But this I do know - death horse compounds badly, stood down 1 trial, Francos' driver gets 14 days and well beaten along with the other leader Goodbye Fella all cricket pitches behind. Those horses odds were 40/1, 105/1 and 114/1. RVR was $2.20 fav and he gave his drive every possible given what he had to endure. The pictures say it all.

Checked out the Maitland race and RVR was the offender this time and Halverson gets 6 weeks. I don't know what was going through his mind but as I pointed out in a previous thread "Times and Margins" the same thing happened out at Parkes twice on 11/1/12. Drivers taking the front legs of horses without sufficient room. As Kevin Newman said ... Cardinal Sin, no excuse, never ever

[broncobrad]

How many drivers here have agents, getting them drives, doing form etc ?

If the $$$ at Menangle is on the up and up and elsewhere, how long before the number of drivers able to perform at the "top" is restricted. If Melton race on Fridays, why can't Sugar, Lang, Alford, Douglas etc be at Menangle on Saturday and vice versa I guess. Way too much family ties and too many far better drivers not driving enough.

Want to improve the industry, get professional. Up and coming drivers can learn their craft elsewhere.

Sorry Robert, you are wrong on this one. Take away real competition as it stands and what will be left. A sport without soul. Harness racing endures because of its grassroots base. Look at the crowds that have been turning out in all of the bush cups in recent weeks. That Maitland crowd when McCarthy dominated was massive. These are great social occassions that bring all walks of people to them. The locals like nothing more than trying to beat the city slickers when they bring their stars with them. Friendships and networking develops. There are young reinspersons out there that hone their craft in the bush and refine them in town. There is a place for them. Their hunger and desire is what fuels the sport. Go and have a good look at some of the youngsters. My only problem with them is the stewards need to be tough on them and get the message across that safety is their highest responsibility. They are P-Platers are should be handled accordingly.

And whilst you were talking about competition maybe you could give Coles and Woolworths a call. They have a great business model. Eventually there will only be two horse races and nobody to watch them.

[NormanS]

Norman thanks for taking the time ....

No problems, the Fact that it was RVR was what reminded me of the maitland incident. My interpretation of the thread was drivers have to respect everyone else on the track. Be they favourites or not. Yes we do race tighter here than in other parts of the world, but thats still no excuse for taking anothers legs. Sorry if i was going down the wrong path.