It’s time to face the impending (racing) New Year with some upbeat reflections after (my) last week’s death notice for our Industry! There are always great stories in this game, whether they involve man or beast. Or, in this case, woman. Perhaps rather than lamenting the morgue at Sandown the other Wednesday, I should [Read more]
Footy Almanac Race Day
July 29, 2011 by 8 Comments
The inaugural footyalmanac.com.au handicap will be run today at Geelong. A hardy band of Almanackers will be wining/dining/punting their way through the afternoon. Follow the action through the afternoon. (Some more excitable types might even apply the tag ‘interactive’ to this experiment. Good punting!
Crio’s Racing: 23 July 2011
July 22, 2011 by 6 Comments
Flemington hosts its last meeting for Season 2010/11 this Saturday and, for those few stalwarts in the wind tunnel of a main ring and for the Paddock bookies, it will be a ghost town as the VRC continues to make its money whilst the foundations of our “game” crumble. An empty ring has meant not [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: Saturday 16/07/2011
July 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
With just 3 Saturdays left in this season, most of the Premierships are already decided. NSW: Nash Rawiller Chris Waller VIC: Luke Nolen P.G. Moody QLD: C. Munce R.L. Heathcote WA: W. Pike N.D.Parnham SA: P. Gatt J.Thompson, Kav and Jolly within 2 of each other! Nationally Peter Snowden has trained the most winners, but [Read more]
Footy Almanac Race Day
July 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Dress code neat casual. Shirt with collar. No denim (pending discussions).
Crio’s Racing: Christmas in July…Winter Finals
July 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Whereas rank and file punters will view this Saturday as just another mid-winter meeting, the VRC’s astute scheduling has created a Christmas in July for owners and trainers. It’s “finals day” at Flemington, with almost a million dollars in prizemoney on offer, mostly in a series of races reaching trophy status. This has ensured capacity [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: Moonee Valley
July 1, 2011 by 11 Comments
We’re back at the Valley again this Saturday. It’s rarely been a happy punting ground for me. But then, as I’ve noted elsewhere, I’ve inherited a tendency to look for the traditional “bookies’ chances” and there is a suspicion that they don’t exist in Moonee Ponds.
Crio’s Racing: The No Darwin Blues
June 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
It is cold and wet tonight (Th 23/06) here in Melbourne. Miserable. There will be a pitiful betting crowd at Flemington on Saturday…understandably – outside of the Committee Room there are many more comfortable places to watch the races this weekend. Relatively few people bother to go to the main metrop meetings these days, with [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: Whinny and Whimsy
June 17, 2011 by 2 Comments
Racing’s focus has been fixed on Royal Ascot this week and, despite our tough time zone, Australia’s payTV viewers have been blessed with an outstanding coverage – as DD and I have discussed on another thread. One suggestion, though, for TVN. Harking way back to my childhood, I’d fall asleep to John Arlott’s dulcet Ashes [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: Have a bet at Eagle Farm this Saturday
June 10, 2011 by 8 Comments
Have a bet at Eagle Farm this Saturday. It’s always the best Qld meeting of the year. Justify it, if you must, by dedicating your presumed winnings to escaping a frozen winter for next year’s Straddy Day! Focus your funding on the 3 feature Group Ones, the first of which is for the juveniles (T. [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: AUSTRALIAN HURDLE AND STEEPLE MEETING 2011
June 3, 2011 by 6 Comments
Here’s what’ll happen. It did last year: A mini-bus will pull up just as I am getting to the gates and out will tumble a small and motley group with rag-tag placards. They’ll wait for the pre-arranged TV camera and then froth at the lens like so many others who somehow yearn to be on [Read more]
Black Caviar makes it 13 from 13
May 15, 2011 by 5 Comments
Black Caviar went 13 from 13 at a packed out Doomben today. There is something in the hearts of Australians that just love a champion nag. Brisbane had been buzzing all week at the prospect of the witnessing the most exciting thing since the Fitzgerald Royal Commission. I decided it was time to get my [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: BT Cup 2011
May 13, 2011 by 5 Comments
Ever wish you could time travel to see the mighty Bernborough send hats flying, or their beloved Gunsynd bow to the parochial Queenslanders? The closest they might get to such iconic moments is this winter when the Banana-benders reclaim local boy Peter Moody. His remarkable mare, Black Caviar, heads north of the Tweed on her [Read more]
The Bool and other festivities
May 6, 2011 by 17 Comments
I’m home and still euphoric from another ‘Bool week, now established as comfortably my favorite race experience. Unless you have joined the devoted throngs, you can’t possibly understand the wonder of this pilgrimage. It’s been disconcerting to hear and read on my return journey about the “carnage” of “a bad day” (The Age) at Warrnambool. [Read more]
In between days
April 30, 2011 by 5 Comments
by Chris Riordan This is truly the “in between” weekend. Proof is that, clearly, the best “city” meeting on Saturday is at Hawkesbury, where an excellent Guineas Day deserves its metrop status. In the feature, Torio’s Quest has been backed for a stack. With Sydney’s Easter Cup races finally over, national focus will soon move [Read more]
Crio’s Easter racing preview
April 22, 2011 by 11 Comments
If you can get through the Good Friday doldrums – hint: Singapore races on TVN from 230pm! – the reward is a fantastic weekend of punting options. On this particular forum I shall ignore AFL and the furore surrounding the betting explosion, which, by any measure, has been immense and intrusive. And, though this page [Read more]
Oakbank
April 21, 2011 by 12 Comments
By Chris Riordan In South Australia, people know how often they’ve “been to Oakbank”. For well over 130 years, generations have journeyed in to the Hills and been intoxicated by the magic that is nowadays promoted (debatably) as the biggest picnic race carnival in the world. The road there, formerly a winding trip across the [Read more]
Canberra Track Memories
April 20, 2011 by 2 Comments
One might assume that Canberra racehorse trainers somehow reflect the people themselves. Staid, comfortable, educated and well travelled. That assumption would be well wide of the mark. I have owned numerous horses over the past 10 or 12 years and been involved with numerous trainers. As in other parts of the country Canberra trainers are [Read more]
Almanac Racing: MORE JOY(ous) AS GREAT RACING GRABS THE LIMELIGHT…
April 15, 2011 by 26 Comments
There’s a real buzz around racing at the moment, with Black Caviar proving that genuine Champions are the best marketing tool for the industry. A lacklustre atmosphere in the crowd at Docklands last Saturday, for a personal example, was transformed at the ground’s TAB venues in to which people crammed to watch, cheer and applaud [Read more]
AJC Derby – a special day at Randwick
April 8, 2011 by 11 Comments
by Chris Riordan It is not my habit to sneak a midweek look at Webjet, eyeing a throwaway fare to Sydney, but the AJC Derby meeting is on my Australian racing bucket list. Alas, finances determine that I’ll watch the main races, the T.J. Smith and The Derby from a bar at Doglands – dragging [Read more]
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