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Choose Your Words

NZ Harness Trainers & Drivers Assn
Published by Pete Cook in News · Thursday 18 Aug 2022 ·  2:00
Anyone who has had experience talking to the media will attest that it can be a bit of a minefield at times. A recent example in our game was when the trainer of a high-profile trotter was asked about the horses return.

He advised that he had entered the horse to make up the numbers of a field that was light, to help the Club and the Industry, which was very obliging. When questioned further, he also said that the horse would undoubtedly need the run, and having drawn an outside gate, would be hard pressed to win against horses with higher fitness levels, or words to that effect.

That’s all fine, you hear the same comments about racehorses every day on Trackside, and punters want honesty. Unfortunately, to ‘flesh out’ the interview, he also said that the race would be a ‘glorified trial’ for him, which subsequently resulted in him being questioned by the Stewards.
 
When the Trainers & Drivers Assn. approached the RIB asking why he had been interviewed, they explained that, while they had no problem with the initial comments, which were pretty obvious to anyone, the extra details about a glorified trial drew their concern They maintained that it gave the impression that he was suggesting that the horse was going to ‘follow the other horses round’ to improve his fitness. While in all reality that maybe the case, the fact that it was in the media was, in hindsight, not that clever.
 
There are faults on both sides here, and the Stewards have spoken to the HRNZ Marketing Department who wrote the article, and they have apparently accepted that the article could be portraying the Industry in a bad light, and could have written differently.
 
So, perhaps a common-sense approach should be taken here. By all means, when questioned by the media, admit that your horse may not be 100% fit to resume its’ campaign very few are, and will benefit from the run, but maybe resist the temptation to embellish the idea with any wording that might be construed as being misleading or dishonest. In other words, stick to the basics.
 
Pete Cook
 



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