It's time for Tom
You all recall Tom Wood, who called down here for a few years before heading to the Central Districts for the next stage of his commentating career.
I think it's fair to say he developed exponentially as a caller during that time. It's now been two years since he settled in Wellington, and I'm finding it a little unfair he is still not getting the big days. There has been a policy in place from the New Zealand Racing Board that ''premier'' callers would do the biggest premier days for the thoroughbreds. According to their criteria, the two ''premier'' callers are Mark McNamara and George Simon.
That meant George - who is a fine caller in his own right - was calling at Hastings on Saturday. As I say, I have nothing against George, but hasn't Tom done enough to get the big jobs in his home patch?
Breeders bonanza ...
I'm going to throw these monetary amounts at you: $1.30, $1.40, $1.30, $1.20, $1.40 and $1.90.
No, they aren't the prices I paid for my past six T-shirts - they're the prices of the first six winners from the Breeders Crown on Sunday. And here's the problem for harness racing.
It's hard for punters to get excited by short-priced favourites. Sure, you can make a dollar or six by getting creative with trifectas or First4s, but the good old-fashioned way of making coin on a racehorse is plonking it on the nose.
The 3yr-old concessions here in New Zealand are a tough one - on one hand, with every second win being a free one for a 3yr-old, some very good 3yr-olds are getting away with some rather soft kills in between feature races, while older c1 battlers get demoralised chasing a different youngster every week.
Then again, they are a godsend for those less talented 3yr-olds who might go to Australia or simply be given away (or worse) if they can't compete with sharp grade rises
.... or turnoff for tipsters?
My idea would be an incrementally-increasing penalty free system.
A 3yr-old wins its first race and it moves into c1. It wins its second race and that is penalty-free. It wins its third race and moves to c2. It wins its fourth race and moves to c3. It wins its fifth race, which will be penalty-free, so stays in the c3 grade.
We'll iron out the details if it wins a sixth, seventh or eighth race as I figure this out a little more ...
Lazy Fiver
You may have needed to rub your eyes, but yes, that was the Lazy Fiver winning on Saturday. The Bold One is a classy animal. The price thinned up to $2.50, but was as long as $3.20 a day or two earlier. Who doesn't love Extra Guinness? Go on the horse with the same name in race 3 at Addington tonight.
-Check out Matt's two-minute racing tips video at www.odt.co.nz every Friday
