I have no interest in greyhound racing but, particularly on Friday evenings between harness events, Mark Rosanowski’s (who I rate a brilliant commentator) dulcet tones perk up the interest. If that has happened to you, it’s likely that you will be aware that, at every Central Districts meeting, races are dominated by the Lisa Cole stable….sorry kennel?

It would be interesting to know how many New Zealand harness meetings attract a crowd of more than 7000 people on-course these days. Obviously, Cup Day and maybe the Motukarara Christmas meeting, but those are the only ones that come to mind with one exception.

It is a fact of life that there are numerous horses that don’t make the grade as youngsters, and it has been a bugbear of mine that some are not given the opportunity to mature and show the ability that they have.

No, that’s not a typo for a word meaning something very different, it’s Latin for ‘year’. Whether you like or approve of the new regime that took over HRNZ this time last year, no one can accuse them of sitting on their hands.

It would take a lot of research that I’m not willing to delve into, to find out if any horse trainer of any code in any Country, has prepared the winner of the same Group One race twice, with a gap of 42 years in between. If it has happened, it would certainly be extremely rare, and would probably involve someone from a high-profile family, like the Purdon’s.

Re: Final Race Meeting At Addington Raceway For 2021
The final race meeting for 2021 at Addington Raceway is scheduled for Friday 17 December with a 5.17pm start and finishing at 9.13pm (based on a 10 race programme).

See Professor Ben Sykes from Massey University explain the intricacies of gastric ulcer disease in horses.

After being talked about for a number of years and promised in a presentation during the last HRNZ Annual Conference, it seems that microchipping of horses is finally upon us, with the following announcement:

We are all aware of the importance of starting races on time, despite the fact that on many occasions in Australian thoroughbred racing, it doesn’t seem to be quite so critical. Most will have received a draft copy of the long-awaited new regulations covering race starts in this Country.

The racing was as good as ever, the weather was fairly typical, cool but fine, but this years’ Cup Day was anything but typical. As one of the lucky ones to be able to attend as part of the Sires Stakes Board so I could maintain my 53 year streak of being there, being in a bubble was a very apt description of the day, like looking out at an unbelievable situation.