Programming Master ClassHarness & Greyhounds

JayJay

Sometimes, it is so obvious it slaps you in the face. I am sometimes left wondering why Harness is where it is at (insolvent) and then at other times, I am not left wondering at all.

Friday Night, we have a 7 horse $35,000 RBD Free For All with only 5 of the 7 starters Level 15 (Open class horses), immediately followed by a 7 horse $25,000 RBD Conditioned Pace with 3 of the 7 starters graded at Level 15. So, with a bottom line that makes for horrific reading ($12.4 million of revenue generated against a $59 million dollar expense for operating the code), we are prepared to throw $60,000 at 14 horses on a no third place dividend basis, that will in all likelihood hardly be a "turnover bonanza".

Now, I appreciate that programming is done months ahead but if it is "dynamic and responsive" to horse populations as we got told ad nauseam, common sense would dictate that over two months out from the Pacing Cup, there would be a paucity of top liners in the middle of September, so why on earth would you programme this meeting in this manner, unless of course you are just cutting and pasting from the past.

With NR being introduced on January 1st, for better or for worse ( and I accept that opinions are very divergent on this), surely it is an opportunity to get someone to redo the programming in such a way that we are not simply throwing money we don't have at horses that have already returned a handsome stipend for their owners. To continue what we are doing is shambolic and terminal for the Industry.

warrenrobinson

Master Class?  nothing like the facts.

Frog

I think this effect a couple of big stables , effecting a number of there runners as they have brought them on the old system and still have them in there stable.

Frog

It does help older horses that wont be moved on.  To NSW and VIC.

warrenrobinson

The HWOE and NRS  are recycling systems and will never work. it's alright to say it keeps horses in the system  but that's our problem same old same old. Dropback has never worked  the figures on harness racing show that, facts never lie opinion's do.Refresh Refresh Refresh.

JayJay

The "recycling" or drop back clauses in both HWOE and NR distort the shape of the "pyramid" with more horses dropping back in class in a race (sometimes 6) and in many cases, only one horse (the winner) rising in class, causing an aggregation or bloating of horse numbers at the lower levels. In WA, we have had "drop back on steroids" as illustrated many times on this forum, especially in the metro $L5 25k and $20k races. Theoretically, run 5 seconds, earn $17 to $18k and still drop back into a lower class? Should be arrested for calling it handicapping because it isn't.

This is what caused all the problems in Tasmania with multiple low NR races filled (literally) with horses from one stable, a stable that loaded up with dozens of old NR 35 horses, and allegedly opened the door on potential race fixing by having every runner in the race. They couldn't lose.

Recycling or drop backs is also very detrimental to the local breeding industry. Every horse that is "recycled" is one less horse to be purchased from a breeder. Less demand results in Industry shrinkage as illustrated by foaling numbers declining from 1200 down to around 330. Another disturbing set of facts that the "grow the industry by shrinking the footprint" self interest acolytes refuse to acknowledge.

WASBA,as the breeders representative body, should be driving this point from the rooftops before we are left with just half a dozen viable breeding operations, a point which we have almost reached. While that may suit the very well established operations, it does absolutely nothing for the Industry as a whole.

Jasper

If you are looking for increases in breeding, what about what the community calls wastage? It is fairly difficult to rehome horses at the moment. Decent broodmares are being given away etc.
The only good thing about the NR system is that it keeps horses racing for an extended period of times. Comes at cost however ie fair go to horses who haven’t won much against horses who have. I don’t even a trainer explaining to an owner how their one win horse is racing against a 12 win horse.

Chopchop43

Said it once I'll say it again there was nothing wrong with the old 'mcr' system , it wasn't perfect but it seemed a hell of alot fairer than what we have now and are going to get in the future , the problem is it doesn't matter what system we have people are always going to complain and pick at it especially those , including myself , that have a financial interest in it. The 'mcr' also gave an incentive to use jnr drivers, something that the current system does not offer

JayJay

There are allowances in the National Rating System for "Junior" or Claiming drivers:

12.3 A horse driven by a Concession Driver claiming a concession shall have its
Rating reduced by either five (5) Rating points or three (3) Rating points as
determined by the concurrent total of the Driver’s race wins being:
(a) Five (5) Rating points concession for 0 – 100 wins
(b) Three (3) Rating points concession for 101 – 250 wins, unless otherwise
specified by a Controlling Body.

Chopchop43

I'd still take the mcr system any day of the week over the tripe being dished up

savethegame

As the industry shrinks every handicapping system will be terrible ,once mobiles were two class combined .
Kalgoorlie Round fields were done straight after 1st and 2nd meetings in little old caravan no mod cons within two hours fields be out---- one meet they had 120 horses 30 ballots.Kalgoorlie round wasn't subjected to any Qualifying clauses so the Round was full suprises.of cause people with unraced horses that missed out. was simply bad luck

savethegame

savethegame said:

As the industry shrinks every handicapping system will be terrible ,once mobiles were two class combined .
Kalgoorlie Round fields were done straight after 1st and 2nd meetings in little old caravan no mod cons within two hours fields be out---- one meet they had 120 horses 30 ballots.Kalgoorlie round wasn't subjected to any Qualifying clauses so the Round was full suprises.of cause people with unraced horses that missed out. was simply bad luck

AbbysAce

You see some horses that have won 15 to 20 races these days and you shake your head.

JayJay

TABtouch only but win pools on race 5 and 6 are woeful, what a surprise. R5 $6.7k, race 6 $4.5k compared to race 7 $9.9k. Yep, running an FFA and a Conditioned Pace on the same night when your FFA ranks are sparse, chucking away $60k in stakes at the same time, is beyond farcical.