Rusty

100% dead right. Early last month my horse had to be put down due to an unexpected medical event. It was the best thing for him obviously, given the circumstances, but jesus it was so sad. Lots of tears shed, and it's been a battle to even watch a race lately. Most people that own horses, have handled them, and felt the horse's breath on them, smelled them and worked/played with them, have so much respect for the horse. They love them. Yet a few farkn low-lifes in the game, see horses as nothing more than a (potential) money making commodity and just don't seem to realise, if it wasn't for the horse, they wouldn't have a job. I'm not talking about owners here, I'm talking about trainers/stable hands etc. And another thing. Happy, I like the title of this post. You're spot on, it's a bloody watch alright given recent (and historic) events. A friend of mine had a horse transferred from one racing stable to a different stable (I shall not name the location). I bumped into the owner shortly after the transfer, and their horse's first win from the new stable. They started talking about their horse and started to tear up. They had found out that their horse was given something that it should not have been. It was soon transferred out to a different stable. It's a bloody sad state of affairs, for a number of reasons.

Still in the same ownership, do you know Happy? Or new owners?

Yeah good point Happy, you quite right. I don't know about anyone else, but personally I am getting pretty bloody sick of all the negativity and how can I word this nicely... "people that do not comply with the rules of racing." It is a massive turn off, and I'm starting to become just not that into it anymore.

A code of conduct should have been published years ago, so it is a positive step introducing one, but only if it has some teeth in it. One can only hope that the code spells out specific disciplinary action for any violation of the code. What that involves and how it ties in with JCA penalties may take some work, but hopefully common sense prevails, even though common sense isn't all that common these days. Or is it as common as sticking a tube down a horse's throat?

Thanks for pointing this out Happy. I missed all racing yeterday so just went back and watched the replay of the start of this race, several times. One can only shake their head when watching (and listening to) Lamb's starts. So many questions arise, but surely there is only one answer to solve the problem?

Yes, he covered the trots way back. Christchurch based. He had one helluva head of hair back in the day. Commanded total respect. I picked him out a mile off in the Melbourne CBD 25 years ago. Should have got his autograph come to think of it. In more recent times he called a greyhound race, with an earthquake rocking and a tv monitor hitting him. Top bloke, and total professional. He should actually be promoted to the central commentary position and only wear a cream, bone, white, off white, ivory or beige jacket.

It appeared to be very genuine too, in my opinion. Far too often, many people fronting after an event, read from a prepared script and apologize, yet it doesn't come across as very sincere. Blair sounded like he meant it. I wish him all the best for the future and hopefully he (and others) learns from it and doesn't repeat it again. No winners with this kind of thing. I won't comment about the 37k. Other than, I'm off to practice my driving with my horse!

Fully recovered, fighting fit now, thanks mate.

Dead right. Ellie Barron and Ricky May another example.

I wasn't specifically refering to Jones and Spicer helping out Anderson, when I wrote this. Nothing against those two gentlemen, but I was more thinking about the everyday people, like the owners, stable hands, trackwork riders, strappers, trainers, drivers, jockeys, vets, etc.

Canterbury mornings with Chris Lynch on Newstalk ZB also covered this story. The angle was when should people be given a second chance, and when should they not. Without wanting to state the obvious, it really wasn't a good look for harness racing. But one can only hope the audience tuning into Chris' show that day, realise that there are bad eggs in many different industries, fields of employment and sectors of society etc. And the majority of people in racing are hard working, down to earth people that will help others out, especially in times of need.

I'm the same Globe, with a "portfolio" of horses I follow closely; mainly in the pacing game, but a few trotters too. You are probably the same as me, where after a while you get to really know each horse; it's best traits, what it prefers, what it doesn't and which type of race (stand v mobile) and distance it is best at. The draw and driver can often play a vital role too. Race day statistics are there for all to see, and generally a good guide, but when one follows a portfolio of horses, and really follows them closely, including ontrack, watching their prelim, you get to know them pretty well. Usually I will have no more than a dozen horses in the portfolio. They chop and change, every 3-4 months or so. This way it is managable to take notes and put all of your effort in to these ones and it generally ties in with an individual horse's prep too. Then, when one of the horses does start, it is just an assessment of all of the factors at play, combined with the previous knowledge obtained regarding the horse. Just because I'm following the portfolio of horses, doesn't mean to say I'm not looking at the opposition on any given day too (to a much lesser extent admittedly). Horses that aren't yet in the portfolio, may one day end up there. "Pricing up the event" - when the acceptances are out, I then think about price. At what price would I be prepared to take. I'm mainly an eachway punter, and will do a check of the betting percentage of the market (final field odds) if I'm looking at the NZ TAB. Then assess the "value" (chance) of my portfolio horse. Ideally I like to be on track for the race, to give it a good once over pre-race. And then use that knowledge and experience from months gone by, to determine if it's worth having a bet or not, at the current odds on offer. At the end of the day, I like most, do it all for the enjoyment and it's been a life long hobby. I don't do it to try and make money as a professional gambler, and I only ever "invest" on what I can afford to lose on any given day. Also, I don't necessary bet on every horse within the portfolio on every start. Sometimes it is just a "taking notes" day. So that's how I roll and so far the results have been more than pleasing. Rewarding financially and socially, I love it. Good luck everyone.