Shame on Harness Racing

[stressless]

Have been training horses for a long time now and i do love my sport, but after witnessing two gestapo like stewards prowling around the horses today then pouncing on an erderly man and his wife has me to say the least shocked, his horse has just finished racing and he ask his wife to get a bucket of water which she did and has done for twenty years and the dirty bast--- fine him fifty dollars cuase she did not have a stablehands ticket, for god sake what is happening to our sport.

 

[Oaksnaf]

You get less for people smuggling!

 

[sethlad]

Should have been at Addington today,plenty going on in the stable area after the FFA apparently.

seth

 

[mattys123]

I used to follow my Uncle around to all the local Victorian Harness tracks when I was little, and the officials were always "obnoxious" w***ers who were basically "power hungry".

You found the volunteers on hand to be friendly and lovely, but anyone who had an "official" badge or capacity acted like a "little hitler".

It used to piss my Uncle off big time, although it seems to have improved a little bit lately.

Although officials can still be idiots from time to time, especially at the smaller tracks.

 

[Oaksnaf]

It doesn't come down to the job, or the badge or the position at the track.

It comes down to the individual.

 

[mattys123]

It doesn't come down to the job, or the badge or the position at the track.

It comes down to the individual.

It just seems "power" goes to a few persons heads, and subsequently they act like morons.

It doesn't matter what the type of racing, or even type of sport you participate in, some officials will always be "dicks" and over officiate.

Most officials are great though, and give leeway when it should be given.

But yeah, you are right, it's more the individual then the official themselves.

A moron is always a moron, no matter what their position is.

 

[the good maggot]

Should have been at Addington today,plenty going on in the stable area after the FFA apparently.

seth

Any update on exactly what went on afterwards Seth? Disgraceful team tactics. Blatant cheating. I love harness racing but this was the most disgusting thing I've seen in a Grand Circuit race in my life.

 

[Island Bomber]

Any update on exactly what went on afterwards Seth? Disgraceful team tactics. Blatant cheating. I love harness racing but this was the most disgusting thing I've seen in a Grand Circuit race in my life.

I didn't see the race, what happened?

 

[the good maggot]

In short Awesome Armbro attacked Auckland Reactor relentlessly in an attempt to set the race up for stablemate Changover.

 

[sethlad]

Mick Guerin's article couldnt even spin it for his good mate G Small

www.nzherald.co.nz/racing/news/article.cfm?c_id=53&objectid=10609204

Personally I think the reaction may be a little OTT,Vinny made a career out of doing this & it was a serious race.
Driver gets time for not giving AA its chance,not that it had a hope anyway.
Changeover not good enough without the gear.....so be it

seth

 

[standingroomonly]

was good to hear hutchy on the radio this morning saying it was going to be good for harness racing for small to be out of it for a couple of years. He got away with heaps for too long.

 

[xamol]

Mick Guerin's article couldnt even spin it for his good mate G Small

www.nzherald.co.nz/racing/news/article.cfm?c_id=53&objectid=10609204

Personally I think the reaction may be a little OTT,Vinny made a career out of doing this & it was a serious race.
Driver gets time for not giving AA its chance,not that it had a hope anyway.
Changeover not good enough without the gear.....so be it

seth

Er, care to elaborate Seth?

 

[Alcopop]

The Harness Racing industry is dodgy.

 

[sethlad]

Er, care to elaborate Seth?

There was hardly a major race when the Knights didnt have 2 or 3 runners.
It gave them the flexibility they needed to run the race as it best suited.
Clearly these were the days when horses were trained to run through walls,no sprint lanes & possession of the lead was 9/10 of the law.
You never had any queries on pre race tactics with VJ.

seth

 

[western royboy]

Have been training horses for a long time now and i do love my sport, but after witnessing two gestapo like stewards prowling around the horses today then pouncing on an erderly man and his wife has me to say the least shocked, his horse has just finished racing and he ask his wife to get a bucket of water which she did and has done for twenty years and the dirty bast--- fine him fifty dollars cuase she did not have a stablehands ticket, for god sake what is happening to our sport.

I sympathise with you, however times have changed. The sport must present itself professionally if it's to survive. May seem trivial but in this day and age with litigation and workcover / OHS laws, the Industry must protect itself by having and enforcing these types of policies. I grew up on gallops tracks with average gallopers and never came close to getting injured in the horse stall - however there is no way I would take my kids in their nowadays. I maintain a stable hands pass at the trots merely so I can go and see my horse when it runs and drive it in the parade ring when I can.

Over bigger concern is are the G Small's of the world. You cannot but wonder whether Changeover has raced above himself in the past. Gee I'm now starting to question Elsu given he raced from the same barn.

Team driving on the other hand has been going on for years and will always be around. Admittedly last Friday's was won of the most blatant for awhile and grabbed headlines because it featured NZ's latest over rated star and their ultimate bad boy in G Small in a high profile race.

 

[xamol]

There was hardly a major race when the Knights didnt have 2 or 3 runners.
It gave them the flexibility they needed to run the race as it best suited.
Clearly these were the days when horses were trained to run through walls,no sprint lanes & possession of the lead was 9/10 of the law.
You never had any queries on pre race tactics with VJ.

seth

Not at all Seth. Vinnie outsmarted them most of the time. Do any come to mind??
If Sinbad had of stayed sound, any hint of pre race tactics wouldnt have been necessary.
Remember, they trained 2 ID winners and Vinnie wasnt on either. And, they were mares.

 

[sethlad]

You never had any queries on pre race tactics with VJ.
seth

It wasnt meant as a question......simply a statement of fact.
Bob had the best stuff for quite a while,then Tubby did,their horses could run through brickwalls & thats how they trained & drove them.

seth

 

[xamol]

It wasnt meant as a question......simply a statement of fact.
Bob had the best stuff for quite a while,then Tubby did,their horses could run through brickwalls & thats how they trained & drove them.

seth

What stuff was that Seth??

Poppy and sinbad were stars from the outset!

 

[OutsideEdge]

What stuff was that Seth??

Poppy and sinbad were stars from the outset!

Bernie, agree on Poppy but doubted your opinion on Sinbad so have looked at the stats.

Sinbad Bay ran 4th in a restricted race at Hobart in Dec 88, 4 starts later in Feb 89, after being transfered to the Knight stable, it won the Winfield Cup beating Kylies Hero, Luxury Liner & Thorate!!

 

[sethlad]

I didnt mention any particular horse Bernie,but as you did both Poppy & Sinbad were acquired by the Knights.
Its impossible to say a bad word about Poppy,he was a freak & a warrior.

These are my memories of Sinbad,I wasnt there so if you were,feel free to fill in the gaps:
Sinbad Bay IMO didnt cope with the production line training approach at Kilmore...he lasted 2 runs (inc a Winfield cup win) before breaking down.I have no idea if he had issues before going to Bob's?

18 months later they nursed him back & took him to Perth??? before winning a Vic Cup with him (in which he broke down again) beating the seriously underated Franco Tiger.

3 years later (vale VJ) they tried again & he was a shadow of his former self,managing a couple of group placings & a country cup win

There is no judgement in any of this,this was the successful formula of the time & has been copied everywhere since.
Eventually though,this style catches up with all,including the best

I wont even begin the discussion of harness racing's reputation in the 80's & early 90's apart from saying that as much as certain horses respond to new environments & training methods,they are flesh & blood & can only go so fast so often.........

seth