Some grizzled racing fans scoff at the Santa's Pick and Summer Selection options put forward by the TAB during their Christmas At The Races and Interisland Summer Festival promotions Luckily, most trainers, jockeys and drivers get in to the spirit - particularly when it comes to the Santa hat for the Santa's Pick - and are festooned appropriately.
Many novice racegoers find the whole process of betting a little intimidating, so any simple option which gives them a horse to follow is a good idea by me.
The Summer Selection served two purposes, though. Any time a horse with the red saddle cloth won, $75 went towards Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), and a second or third placing resulted in a $50 donation.
From the seven Summer Festival meetings - Wingatui, Kurow, Waikouaiti, Omakau, Omakau, Roxburgh and Cromwell - $2350 was donated by the New Zealand Racing Board to RMHC.
A total of $5750 was raised across the country, with another $3000 raised by on-course collectors.
Solid effort, folks.
. . . but my horse is where?
This is a long-running campaign on my part which stems back to when I was working at Trackside.
How often do you watch a race and think to yourself: "the numbers don't match up to the horses at the front of the race?''
The answer, sadly, is too often.
I was reviewing races over the holiday period and saw some shockers.
The worst of them?
One race simply did not have any numbers up on screen at any point, while another race at Manawatu in late November had the favourite in third, one full lap after being pulled out of the race due to gear problems.
The runner numbers are manually entered by the graphics operator, but it seems a few of them don't listen too closely to the commentary - or look at the colours, for that matter.
I had a go at it myself on occasions when the operator was taking a break and sure, it helps if you have some racing knowledge, but it's not a difficult application to use.
Sound is not necessarily guaranteed if you're watching in a busy pub, so any assistance from the studio in Auckland is greatly appreciated.
The operators would do well to remember that.
Speaking of pubs with TABs . . . fine, I'll let that one slide for a few weeks.
Lazy Fiver
I'm just in the process of re-negotiating the funding streams for the Lazy Fiver.
Bear with me for the time being, and have a crack at Costa Del Magnifico to beat the fresh-up Hug The Wind in race 7 at Addington tonight.
- Check out Matt's two-minute racing tips video every Friday at www.odt.co.nz
