After more than fifteen years at the helm, Rob Lawson has announced that he is stepping down as Chair of the Trainers & Driver’s Association.

The Association has been advised that the Ministry of Primary Industry is putting forward a large raft of proposals concerning animal welfare. The issue that has caught our attention is a change in the law surrounding horse dentistry.

Wednesday 26 June 2019 turned out to be a big day in harness racing in this Country, with significant movement on two issues that have been hovering around for quite a while

I know it’s not directly related to harness racing, but having spoken to Dunedin vet and Forbury Park stalwart Peter Gillespie, who was directly involved in the incident, about the incident and heard his horrific description, it’s a matter that will touch the heart of all horse lovers.

The word from HRNZ is that micro-chipping of horses is being introduced in the near future, thereby eliminating the need for the ugly freeze brands on the necks of our standard-breds.

I’m not big on a lot the new technology cluttering up the screens on Trackside, such as the absurd indicator of how many kilometres/hour the horse a traveling at.

At the recent National Council meeting, Jamie Gameson outlined progress on the establishment of the Canterbury Racing Bureau, which he described as progressing, but hard work.

Chair Rob Lawson recently convened another bi-annual meeting of the Association’s National Council, with the usual wide range of topics up for discussion.

No update this week – report on National Council meeting next week.

This subject is a bit of a ‘hardy annual’ for me, and I’m hoping that the current review of the Racing Act will encompass well overdue change.