Comments worth a post but not a thread of their ownHarness & Greyhounds

warrenrobinson

A very comical folly.

Markovina

Frog said:

Only 3 swabs taken at Pinjarra Monday ?

Mistake or cost cutting. No pre race swabs.

Still waiting for GP Tuesday stewards report.

GP  Tuesday night , about 6 pre race swabs but only 5 of the 8 winners swabbed after the race

Qld which seems to be the only Trot state well run ( but i havent seen their Financial Statements ) AP 9 race meeting last night , about 6 pre race , but most importantly all 9 winners swabbed after race 

Good old penny broke Vic , last night at Bendigo , 9 race card , only 2 pre race swabs and only 4 of the 9 winners swabbed , and because of that a couple of big price winners didnt get swabbed 

Just my opinion , if you dont swab all winners , you are looking for real trouble , and from a couple of different angles 

savethegame

Always wonder about nsw harness, how the participants keep burying the product, Don't know what Sam Nati is doing now but he tried to save nsw harness, His belief was no CEO should be in the position for more then three years, he had to stay five years when the Stewards saga , Bently & O'toole surfaced

Thats when the Formation of Intergrity units which were initially to oversee the Stewards, totally separate groups now think they hold hands.

If the two drivers are guilty ten years would be enough time,plus at 32 they should have wised up.

Jasper

Off the top of my head I reckon they will get six months, on appeal. Harness drivers aren’t sports people in the traditional sense (the horses are providing most of the effort) so the rule would be about safety rather than driver performance enhancement.
Actually a more interesting topic would be should drivers be considered sports people at all?

Muldoon

JayJay said:

It is time for a changing of the guard, not a shadow of doubt in my mind that Matt Young should be the prime harness caller in WA. The current occupier of the chair's calling has become stereotypical and quite bizarre.

Matt McDermott does not get a look as well, in your opinion ? 

Which reminded me of a question I had brewing, some callers call in lengths in Harness, some call in metres. Which is the correct or preferred ? 

sonny

I am a fan of Matt.. Calls well and is good in photo finishes..I still think in lengths, dont know if its right though..

Muldoon

sonny said:

I am a fan of Matt.. Calls well and is good in photo finishes..I still think in lengths, dont know if its right though..

Which Matt ?  I'm confused now.  :))  I like MM at harness over gallops.

JayJay

I do wish whoever it is gets rid of the "metres". I don't know how or why it crept in (hasn't done so at the gallops or the dogs)....and another dislike is the dependence on sectional times to fill out their calls.

I would be happy with either Matt taking over. When you are on course at a country meeting, the work that Matt Young does in the run up to each race is fantastic as is his post race work, neither of which go to air on "Racing Radio' as it crosses to a 4 mile  3 legged  camel steeplechase in Siberia.

Chariotsonfire

Have to disagree with the sectional times JayJay. It gives the viewer or listener a clear indication of the tempo of the race and the likelihood of the winner coming from on the pace or running on from back in the field.

JayJay

Yes, they do have a place...but not at the expense of holding back on the call describing the positions of the horses awaiting for the sectionals to be posted. In all bar about 2 or 3 tracks, the races are hand timed, the lead times mean little when the lead distances all differ.

They have a place but not to the extent that some use them i

Jasper

Love hearing the sectionals, especially the lead times at GP re 2100 and 2500 when there is such a bias towards the leaders. I don’t mind Richard Bells calling apart from the fact that he is very slow to call the lead time and also other quarters. The 2500 lead times often don’t get mentioned until the 1200 metre mark. If you are listening on the radio it doesn’t make for a very good call as you aren’t informed of the tempo of the race.

With respect to 2500 metre races I think the product could be improved if they used the first 500 as the lead time because you don’t usually see anyone attempting to get the lead after that point. In fact it will be interesting with respect to the redevelopment whether they incorporate a more sophisticated timing/GPS system such as they have in NZ re stridemaster. Lets hope so.
Wasn’t a fan of the use of metres but have warmed to it.

Chariotsonfire

The WA Racing Forum has exploded after Darren calling the wrong horse winning the Railway Stakes on Saturday.

Just as well it wasn't Richie as they would be calling for the Stocks and Gallows to be reintroduced  

The haters will hate and the supporters will support..

JayJay

Richie gets a least one name wrong each meeting, sometimes more than one,  or he pronounces it the way he wants which is often at odds with what the owner calls it, but rarely in the finish, and his calls when he is really on in big races are often superb.. He is way to predictive for my liking but I couldn't do it, so we live with it.

I don't think it is hate, I think it is factually calling out an error, an error rarely if ever made by Matt Hill or Darren Flindall and it is people wishing for the best performance and presentation of our sport.

On that, it is time to sort out the birdcage interviews?. On Tuesday, you had the presenters running around trying to get last minute interviews in the race up onto the track, where the drivers can only say a few words that are pretty meaningless, no numbered order, no white horse leading them around or leading them out, no checking of race numbers, they just wandered out like Browns Cows. No hate, just an observation, it was very unprofessional.

Arapaho

Sure Richie makes errors,they all do,(WE ALL DO),but I think Richie is as  good, a caller, as anyone, that we have over here.

It would be quite boring going to the races and there is no commentator,

they add to the hype with some making races very exciting and getting the crowd buzzing.

Doing this and getting it right all the time cant be easy and full credit to them for having a go and creating this service for us. 

Obviously their main purpose, is to convey whats going on to those in TAB land,anyone who is unable to view the race live. 

Now whether you are watching a race live or are listening to it, if a commentator makes a minor mistake during the race(which happens quite often) if you are on the ball ,you would know what he meant and if you are not, you wouldnt know he made a mistake

.

A caller cant make a horse, go any faster or change a result ,it is what it is.

But it is very important if they can get the first four across the line pretty right and if it is close let the listeners know who is involved.

Plenty of time to elaborate on other things later.

In my book thats a good caller.(Richie)

 

But at the end of the day(Saturday) theres no better adage than;

Only believe what you see ,

Not what you hear.

AbbysAce

The thing about Ritchie Bell he rarely gets on the mic before the race during the warm up , builds up the race, talks about potential tactics.

When Mat Young did a full meeting he was talking about the form , how the race could potentially be run, trying to get the crowd or radio listeners to bet etc etc.

He also gave a good debrief after the race, mentioned all owners, etc where Ritchie talks about tote dividends, how good the trifecta and first four paid, if you took the 1st 2 fav and the 2 fields.

I know who I would prefer and I know who is trying to promote turnover which seems to number 1 priority. 

sonny

Two different types of people and callers... Trots have more problems  than, the callers mentioned..

cisco

It doesn't help when you part own a horse and listening on the radio when your horse is called the winner and it isn't. Especially in the WA Pacing cup!! :(( :(( :((

sonny

Colin Watts the son of the legendary J.D Watts passed away today..

JayJay

Crikey, he must have been well into his 90's. I remember the familyt bought over a top liner for the Nugget about 20 years ago, his son Graeme drove it. Te Kanarama....he won it beating a Lombo horse. Famous harness family. I am pretty sure he was an OAM or similar for services to trotting.

sonny

Hi JJ, I think he was 92/93.. Jarred Humphries is related somehow to the Watts family...He spent his last years in a nursing home but still had all his senses (brainwise) about him.. Graeme still punches with a few pacers and are named after Colin..Worked with Graeme after he left Inghams (J.Hawkes) and went to Billy Prain..

JayJay

I read that he was 97, remarkable. Drove his first winner in 1950. Think a family connection to John Graham as well. Maybe the same year he won the Nugget (beating Lombo La Fe Fe) but I think Te Kanarama won an Inters heat the year that Jofess bloused out The Falcon strike. Magnificent trotting family. I recall Colin saying he never got many drives when he was young because J.D was still the 'boss".

Royboy

Colin Watts was 97 . Not related to Jarred Humphries. He was Kim Humphries &  John Graham’s Uncle.

sonny

Thanks Roy boy, My mind has gone and I am only 71....

sonny

Another one ..Dennis Wilson passed away today.. He would have been in his late 70s.. Drove and trained heaps of winners and drove for Peter Morris..There is a podcast with Tappy.. 

savethegame

sonny said:

Another one ..Dennis Wilson passed away today.. He would have been in his late 70s.. Drove and trained heaps of winners and drove for Peter Morris..There is a podcast with Tappy.. 

Thought he was home on Atitagain 2001 Inters Final when he went for home on the turn, Yulestar got him in shadows of the post RIP. Dennis Wilson.