Minister Of Racing

[Don Corleone]

Having been in Wellington for a few days I attended a informal function that included The Minister of Racing. He seemed very approachable and so we started up a conversation on Harness Racing. Within 30 seconds alarm bells started ringing. The trainers he mentioned were all galloping trainers!!! He stated the jockeys in harness racing were being watched as part of his new Integrity Unit. He went on to a automated speel about harness racing looking after it's own industry where it should know that it is part of a tri-code industry and that our destiny lies in our own hands...blah blah blah...
Now I am fairly easy guy to get on with and my tolerance levels are somewhat high, but mid sentence I walked away from this dim wit.
Harness Racing New Zealand, we ARE IN TROUBLE!!!!!!!!!!

[eljay]

Your comments are sad but unfortunately true. All the "Minister" is worried about is the posting he gets when he retires from government at election time. Surely our "leaders" are aware of the situation and have begun lobbying for a replacement minister who (1) is aware of the strife the racing industry is facing and (2) has the knowledge and interest to address these problems. It will not be an easy job as he will inherit 3 years of inactivity and absence of leadership. There are a lot of wrongs to be righted.

[mango]

The racing minister sounds like the same ............... Queensland have, Harness racing N.Z need to get rid of this .............. as soon as they can. There's a word for these 2 ministers but out of respect for this harness forum i think i'll leave it at that.

[triplev123]

Sorry to hear that Don C. Unfortunately is a not uncommon Industry affliction here in Australia and quite markedly so here in NSW.
We have suffered through a succession of imbeciles in the Gaming & Racing Minister portfolio though credit where it is due, the current though not to be for much longer Minister, Kevin Greene, is far & away the best Racing Minister to have come from Labor in many decades. The true villains of the piece in this State, as invariably they are in all Governments-both State & Federal, are the plotting and scheming career Public Servant seat shiners. There are a number of particularly unpleasant Sir Humphrey Appelby style 'empire builders' and 'puppeteers' that come to mind within the NSW Department of Gaming & Racing that we could most certainly do without. To paraphrase the words of Forrest Gump "Sometimes there just ain't enough trees".