Reply With QuoteSky has been very slow to roll out HD , they should have 4k by now ! They basically have a monopoly on the product so they aren't rushing to spend money on modern technology.
Interesting, because I watched one race on Sky1 instead of Vision the other night and thought it looked better than usual but I just turned on Sky1 now and it looks ordinary
Did you mean April 1 Steve?
2018?
Ch528 Thoroughbred Central has been HD for yonks and makes Vic's racing.com look very ordinary
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Sky has been very slow to roll out HD , they should have 4k by now ! They basically have a monopoly on the product so they aren't rushing to spend money on modern technology.
Don't die wondering !
Another great Cranbourne meeting tonight, only 7 races all but one with less than 8 runners ! And all 7k races ! Just an opportunity wasted !
Don't die wondering !
Times are always slow at Cranbourne but I think small fields make it even worse
We had a 68.1 first half in R5
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
$300m upgrade for Caulfield
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...7b7f2ee33b517a
TB trainers to be relocated to Cranbourne and Packenham which are likely to have in excess of 500 gallopers each in training.. How do we compete in the south east against the might of the TB industry?
We should have been there 40 years ago, Dot, at Keysborough. Bernie Ahern and a flash Cadillac mobile barrier won the day and sent us to Moonee Valley.
Licence holders directory may make interesting reading next season... Seems every second hobby trainer I speak to is either hanging up the reins (incl yours truly) or at least thinking about it... Some people keep still renewing their licences whether they're training or not, however, so not totally trustworthy indicator.
Interesting Kati, is it how difficult it is to pick up a cheque to make ends meet, when the big boys/girls are racing their horses at all levels?
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Not really that Kev as they are entitled to race at all levels and all tracks just like everyone else. It's a combination of things.
It's the costs going up and prize money down (programming more and more $4,500 races), same with breeding costs (yup, I'm one of those with an empty broodmare on the paddock).
It's the two sets of rule books that still, after all complaints, appear from time to time. I have a good example of this: I nominated a mare to a mares race and put her in an other race in the same meeting as a second preference in case she didn't get into the mares race. When the noms were extended I knew she would get into the mares race, as a matter of fact there weren't enough noms for a full field in that race (9 if I remember correctly). The rules say that a mare will always get a start in a mares race if one is available (can't remember the exact wording) so, without thinking too much, I withdrew from the second preference. You can guess what happened next - I got a scratching penalty for a meeting I raced in! I called the Racing Office and they told me to call the Racing Mgr. I did and sent in an email questioning the penalty - waste of time. Yet, you see big trainers pulling out horses after they extend noms without any hassles at all...
I could go on... For 20 years I have been racing horses solely on their merits and celebrated every win knowing not every horse was running only on their training and ability. Now the stuff they are using, doesn't even swab... I feel like it's a choice of either join them or get out. I'm done.
Have to say Kati I do wonder why Vic doesn’t follow or at least try the WA system of nominations where there is no penalty for withdrawing during extended nominations and as a rule many trainers nominate for multiple races to try and ensure they get a run if not in their preferred race but in a race which I’m sure helps to keep field sizes up. Obviously the penalty for scratching in Vic is to discourage people from scratching from a particular race but no doubt the flow on effect is it discourages them from nominating as well, particularly when, like now, times are tough.
Paying a scratching fee for another race at a meeting you raced at is imo certainly wrong and guaranteed to disenfranchise
people but as to your claim that big trainers pull out horses after noms are extended without any hassles all the time well maybe the “big” trainers do, but this owner receives a scratching penalty fee every time.
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