Frustration

I suppose all facets of life have frustrations built into them, and harness racing is no exception. So I suppose it should come as no surprise when, at a time when almost everyone is bleating about the need for stakes to go up, the Waikato club puts up $30,000 for what appears to be an attractive four and five year old race, and they get four entries!

I know there is a shortage of horses in the North, for whatever reasons, but surely there must be enough horses of that age to ensure that race gets off the ground. For heaven’s sake, you can earn $1140 for running fifth and $600 for turning up. It is becoming increasingly obvious that chucking money at the connections of horses isn’t the magic bullet that some would think, as the Auckland club has found out. And if it isn’t, what the heck is?

Oh yes, and that’s on top of four horses lining up in a Nevele R fillies heat at Auckland, forcing it to be run as a non-tote, thereby disadvantaging the ones that do want to race, because of a lower stake.

What’s that old saying about leading horses to water – it seems it applies to some owners and trainers as well!

Pete Cook