Rusty

Well done to the club, that's a credit to all involved putting that together, good on them, it's encouraging to see. I wish them every success.

Cheers. There are some really good, hard working people at MPI, that genuinely care about animal welfare. Then there others, that are, lets just say, not as good, to put it very mildly. Obtaining sufficient evidence, is key. So too, is a good working partnership between racing authorities and MPI. Unfortunately, I am still hearing there is a lot of work to do, on that collaboration between the two agencies. They just need to get on the same page, join forces properly and don't get too possessive of any particular investigative case. Until that happens, we are never going to see the best results for the poor animal subjected to the abuse some of these low-life scum are resorting to.

I'll join Happy and Addington, in that I don't know 100% either, but will say this; There have been rumours floating about, but without any concrete proof, it's not wise, possibly illegal, to publish too much detail, because if unsubstantiated, it's opening up the possibility of defamation. So that's why most people choose to zip it. At least publicly anyway.

Ken Breckon was on the radio last weekend. He said trotting stakes were going up. I didn't know they were "going up." I was thinking the opposite. I was of the understanding that stakes were going to be decreasing, but Breckon saying trotting stakes are going up, can only be a good thing. It's great news. It's really encouraging to hear a key industry figure making this statement, and such good timing, just before the upcoming sales. I think he also mentioned he had plenty of yearlings to go through the sales ring!

I know which agency I'd like him to be referred to.

Might be on to something there Happy! Cage fighting. MMA. Kick boxing. Jiu Jitsu. Get it at Addington in between races. Fantastic stuff! Whilst not overly common at the moment in this part of the world, we could also get the illegal back yard fights, transferred to the inside of the track at Addington. Get the crowds back for sure. You're an ideas man Happy.

I didn't go into Spectators, but elsewhere the crowd turnout was very poor for a Friday night Addington meeting. Quite excitable in some parts however. There was a big argument between a man and a lady in the bucket seat area. It was a bit embarrassing. The argument was all in Hindi, except for the words "fifty thousand" that were screamed out by the man several times, pointing to the stake money in the race book (for the Group race). Neither were backing down. Lady was shaking her head furiously. Man was pointing at the race book and going off his chops. Sounded like a busy, and heated kitchen at the back of an Indian restaurant, but the odd "fifty thousand" was heard every few minutes. The lady ended up moving down to the other end of the grandstand. Got me thinking, Jesus, what would happen if they disagreed on driving tactics, or if they lost their money cold on a horse that galloped at the start of a race?!?! Perhaps we need a bit more passion at the track these days. Can be quite a dull, dead atmosphere at times. Never like seeing arguments oncourse, but I think sometimes it just needs a bit of spark, a bit of energy and a bit of passion. Horse racing in Nigeria looks interesting to say the least.

You're not the first, and won't be the last. It's not you. And it's not worth wasting one's time over it. Perhaps he couldn't even work himself out, so that's why he created, and used, different profiles (usernames), so they could try and figure it all out. That, and to try and assist with the prospect of generating ad revenue (i.e claiming to have x number of viewers/profiles etc). I found it funny and sad at the same time that he had to resort to that (creating fake profiles etc). Lacking genuineness and integrity, that site wasn't for me, nor a few others. I think I'm "on the money" there.

I'd almost forgotten about that individual. Oh hang on wait... He wasn't an individual was he? No, no, that's right. He was multiple people. Or at least one person, using multiple usernames, pretending to be different people on an internet chat forum. Until he got found out. Oh and don't forget, that in the chief's rulebook, one can't form an opinion or hold a view on something, unless one has actually plied their trade at that particular subject. So definitely no criticizing any Prime Minister, or MP, unless you have actually been a PM or MP in the past. Because you simply don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, that sounds fair. If you're in North Korea or China. We can't have just anyone forming various opinions on issues.

I don't think he'll touch it. He should, and I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling he will choose not to publish anything about it in the Herald. He'll be torn. So he won't publish anything. It's like when your mum wants you to go have Christmas lunch at her place, but your wife wants to go to her mum's joint for the Christmas lunch. Meanwhile Greg O'Connor on The Box Seat will just get splinters from sitting on the fence lol but that is kind of understandable in some ways I guess. Love your work Greg. Honestly, I do. Good on the Cambridge club for being proactive. Can only hope that other clubs jump onboard too.

Possibly so, but breaching a Court issued order is very serious in itself. I hope Murray Boyd has a good support network in place, and wish him well for the future, but he's going to have to try and get things back on track very quickly. No pun intended.

Murray Boyd. Hang your head in shame. How bloody sickening. Poor horses. And the height of arrogance, by blatantly breaching the Enforcement Order from the Court! Good work MPI, for obtaining the Enforcement Order, well done. They take a bit of time and effort to get issued those things. Sufficient evidence would have had to have been gathered before applying for the Enforcement Order, so good on MPI for being reponsive here. It's one pleasing aspect to see out of all of this mess. Gazza, how is that "Code of Conduct" working out mate? Come out and show some leadership please. Don't worry about a bloody Christmas ham recipe this year. Stick to your knitting.

It's the old Jewels day reinvented with a slight twist. The fields look fantastic, the weather will be perfect, it's not going to rip anyone off at the turnstiles (who remembers them at Addington?), there will be kiddies entertainment, this all looks set for potentially one of the best days of the calendar year for the code. Well done to whoever put this concept together, I think it will be a great success. Hopefully Trackside TV will play the game too and resist the urge to leave Addington as soon as the second to last horse has finished, and cross to either the Snake Gully gallops, or to a skinny greyhound trying to lay a cable, 5 minutes before it gets loaded away by its Weight Watchers "before photo" handler. Looks and sounds like Addington are throwing coin at some mainstream media marketing too, so good on them. Not much coin judging by the end product, but some. Just a poor choice radio advert by some Irish geezer going on about something. I thought that was bad, but then saw the back of the bus advert. Dear God... Old people and a horse's rear end?! Well done. That really conveys a positive image, captures one's imagination and will make non-horsey, non-race goer Joe Public want to get along and check the races out. Nothing surer. End of year school report for the marketing department reads: "Rarely turns up, but on the odd occasion they do, they could do better."

Let's call it, for what it is. It's bullshit. Blind Freddy can see what's going on here.

Funny how these top trainers seem to be shy of taking their horses to Aussie. Speaking of Aussie - I see they test horse hair samples now. Would be interesting to see Sundees Son in oz, but nope, not to be. Good luck to Mr AG Herlihy MNZM with Bolt For Brilliance in Aussie. Hopefully the trotter has returned to full fitness now, and can do his connections and NZ proud!

I wonder what his secret is. Hmmmmm... Only because you know. It's always good to learn from the best lol

Meeting has been moved to Addington on Monday, starting at 3.21pm.

And racebooks were $10 each. A tenner! Not sure how much the booze, chips and hot dogs were going for. I have no doubt they would have been reasonably priced, and represented excellent value for money lol The rate of inflation, cost of living crisis etc have been in the headlines in recent times. I often think some places hike their prices up on things just because they can. And if questioned, they just cite rising costs. This is true in many (most?) cases, but some outfits are fricken creaming it. Crowd numbers (GA) did look to be down a bit however. The admission price, plus the perceived "value" that one gets from this, would probably have been a factor behind the lower than expected turnout. Like I said to the Mrs, when we were watching the cleavage, sorry I mean coverage, on the telly this arvo... those hoity-toity snobs are no where to be seen at Addington in the foggy and freezin nights in June. Guess they help prop up the club financially though for the rest of the racing year, so they can have their day out. I'll stop at home and leave them to it, with their $10 racebooks and reasonably priced food and beverages. Spot on. For many in the outdoor bucket seats, the horses "disappeared" going round the final bend before the home straight.

Her suspension was fair enough, but it's the little things, she seems to get questioned a helluva lot, over very minor things, compared to a lot of the other drivers that do not get questioned, for the same thing.

It's the inconsistencies of it all that I can't fathom. Matthew Williamson, with the exact same offence, on the same day, 2 races earlier, gets a holiday for his efforts with the whip, yet doesn't start his vacation until AFTER the Show Day races this Friday. The stipes seem to have it in for him and Sarah O'Reilly.

Haha dead right. Just a typical government department; not doing a helluva lot, but pretending too, and trying to justify their inflated wage.

It took MPI the maximum allowable number of working days under the law, to pretty much say nothing: Thank you for your email of 16 September 2022 requesting information relating to the why the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) and the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Incorporated (SPCA) have not met twice a year as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and your subsequent request for information relating to Jesse Alford. Your requests have been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). I shall quote and respond to each part of your request below. You requested: Why didn't MPI fulfill their commitment to meet with the other 2 parties involved with the MOU (as outlined in the MOU, to meet in person, twice a year etc). To be fair, I'm asking the other two organisations the same question, not just MPI. The MOU provided to you in response to your OIA request (reference OIA22-0729) was signed on 10 November 2021. It relevantly states that: “The parties commit to … meet, preferably in person, twice a year. Senior representatives from all three organisations will be present at the meeting”. As advised in response to your OIA request (reference OIA22-0680) there have been meetings between the parties since the MOU was signed but none where all three parties were present. However, staff from all three organisations correspond regularly via email and phone to discuss individual situations (where appropriate) as well as opportunities for greater engagement between agencies. For example, on 26 July 2022, RIB officials presented their animal welfare programme to MPI Animal Welfare Inspectors. MPI Compliance staff also met with SPCA Inspectorate representatives on 27 July 2022 and 27 September 2022. MPI, the SPCA and RIB have also discussed joint animal welfare training opportunities for Animal Welfare Inspectors and RIB Investigators. We continue our commitment to animal welfare in the racing industry. You also requested: Under the OIA may I also please receive all information that MPI hold, including copies of photos and/or video footage, relating to the events, and investigation (that the RIB conducted, and shared with MPI), regarding horse trainer Jesse Alford (suspended from training for 7 years)? As recorded in the MOU, MPI and the RIB “may share information relating to the maintenance of the law and the investigation of offending under the Animal Welfare Act and Rules of Racing”. Any information supplied by the RIB to MPI regarding the RIB’s investigation into Jesse Alford was provided in this context. Further, the information was supplied to MPI subject to an obligation of confidence, the release of the requested information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied. Consequently, the information requested in the second part of your request has been withheld pursuant to the following sections of the OIA: • Section 6(c) – the making available of that information would be likely to prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences, and the right to a fair trial; and • Section 9(2)(ba)(i) – to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied. MPI is satisfied that in the circumstances of this case, the withholding of the information is not outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable in the public interest to make the information available. I trust the information provided is of assistance. Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with the Ministry for Primary Industries at Official.InformationAct@mpi.govt.nz. Alternatively, you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at info@ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi nui

They are all amazing down south lol but I won't go into anything further than that on here. Not at the moment anyway. Other than to say, my favourite southern trainer is old man Williamson. One of the all time good guys, and a very fine horseman indeed.

I think it is (or you may say "was") "Woodend Watch", and not to be confused with the good folk at Woodlands lol But yes, your point is received loud and clear, and isn't that UDR ultra impressive for that trainer?! Head and shoulders above the Purdon's, Dunn's, the Telfer's, old man Williamson, Nairn, Herlihy etc, etc quite remarkable indeed, I can't recall a UDR above 0.5 before.

Haha sorry, just needed to get all that sh!t off my chest. I'm feeling better now, having had a cup of tea (same one that the monkeys drink), and a lie down.