Macca

I had Ranier on top along with DZ's pick (Sikorsky) as well. A bit of luck today and we might come out on top. Fingers crossed Wadda! At work today so you blokes might want to give a bit of commentary on proceedings!

Best Bet (Saturday) Morphettville Race 8 No.1 Santa Ana Lane (Place) $2.45

Still a Hayes horse and in fact the horse has won 3 races since the gear change (so to speak) It's racing well and savaging the finishing line these days. A decent G3 horse and I was confident it could win Saturday. It's a striking looking animal and now has prizemoney in excess of $1.2Million. The Goodwood is coming up on Saturday Wadda ... a top field being assembled by the looks of it.

Had a similar day on Saturday Wadda but backed a few winners today to make up for it. And I'm with you with regards to Russian Camelot ... looks a real good stayer in the making. If not already. There were a number of impressive winners at Caulfield on Saturday ... had backed a few of them previously and probably should have stuck with them. News Girl, Shot of Irish & Oasis Girl especially! But I was on So Si Bon at least ... oh the irony!

Best Bet Caulfield Race 4 No.3 Something Silver (Win) $6

You're full of winners today Wadda. The Sunday Specialist I'm reliably told! Multiple nicknames never hurt anyone! Demons Rock indeed ... that's a good start to the day and Zac is 2 from 2. But watch for Moreira in the middle of the meeting ... races 6, 7 & 8.

The odds for all the races are tight to begin with Wadda ... better to wait around until the race you're betting on comes around. Especially the last few races where the odds will drift quite a bit ... and what I'm talking about is not necessarily relatable to racing anywhere else. It's just perculiar to HK racing. I bet there every Sunday and that's the trend. So it's best to wait and if your pick does tighten then that can be looked upon as a good thing as the market often tells the true story I had 'Demon Rocks' picked out as well but not because of any sort of omen bet but because it looks the winner. Currently $4 which might in fact be overs for this particular race. Horses for courses haha

Laddies don't put up the races in Sha Tin until tomorrow Wadda ... and the odds aren't up until 12noon sometimes Go to Racenet.com and then click on Sunday then Sha Tin. Mig Energy is in Race 5 but it has drawn barrier 14. Former Australian galloper. But that race is a wide open affair with any number of chances ... exotics (?) I've done the form for Sha Tin and my best bet is R6 No.4 - Excel Delight (Moreira) ... currently $3.50 on one of the HK betting markets but bound to shorten.

The players get 28% of 'Budgeted' income (or thereabouts) ... not actual income. And the money is guaranteed. The only way for that to change is for the players to give some leeway or ... not pay them and let the whole thing play out in the courts. It's highly unlikely that the latter option would happen but some of the clubs may go to the wall unless they start getting some real income in. As it stands, the clubs are forking out at least a half a million dollars and up to a million dollars per month - ongoing. Coaching staff salaries & FD costs included. As well as Admin costs, CEO salary etc etc. And they are going broke in the process as the income has slowed to a trickle. Ongoing contracts are guaranteed as well. So we pay the players & coaches but the clubs go broke. It's any wonder that they want to play the games asap. But take away the guaranteed salaries and there's no such haste. A money decision disguised as a goodwill measure. But why wouldn't the AFL take out some sort of insurance or have an 'Act of God' clause. Why wouldn't they protect themselves? Looking ahead they will but that ship has sailed for now and now the AFL has had to take out a $600Million loan. Which will need to be paid back. And the next broadcast rights contract may not be as lucrative as previous broadcast rights. So considering the league and clubs are not-for-profit organisations, it seems a bit odd that extreme amounts of outgoing monies are 'Guaranteed'.

I've got a very nice Giclee print of Dali's 'Christ of Saint John of the Cross' Quite a striking portrayal. And 'Money Heist' looks very interesting DZ ... there's some more decent lockdown viewing! There's a lot of great European Drama about ... I especially liked 'The Bridge' (Bron/Broen) A joint Swedish/Danish production. Modern day 'Noir' But I've come across about 20 drama series out of Europe that are worth looking at.

Ancestry has come into $2 for the place but I reckon it's a very good chance to win ... so much so that I'm on the horse @ 8.50 (Wed early odds) Likes the wet too. And James Jordan has picked Garner & Away Game. The latter choice will almost certainly lead and you can just see the horse scooting away on the turn with that light weight. Garner is a good horse. JJ has also selected November Dreaming (R5 No.13) & Toffee Tongue (R7 No.9) Those 4 saluting will pay very well in a multi ... worth a coffee outlay! Expresso please! I picked all 4 choices myself on Wed night so I'm all in on JJ's 4 selections. Jungle Edge in the last (?) ... it's at least a place chance on an (expected) heavy track. Good luck Wadda & Salvador!

Best Bet (Sat) Sandown Race 7 No.1 Ancestry (Place) $2.60

The racing will continue on into the Spring albeit with reduced prizemoney Wadda. Unless there is an outbreak of the virus. But they'll still be racing for good money even with the reduced prizemoney. Not sure about the internationals but again, is anyone in Australia the least bit concerned that it might be locals only? As much as I like the Internationals competing, we'd just be going back to the way it was (still as popular too) I see Queensland racing put a stop to their winter carnival stakes races a month back then changed their mind a week later. So the show goes on. Speaking of the racing calendar, Morphettville, Gold Coast, Doomben & Eagle Farm take over for the next 2 months in terms of stakes races but the fields in Melb & Syd could remain quite strong as well. The owners need to keep racing their horses for the prizemoney (just in case it all comes to a halt) Next week we've got the G2 Hollindale Stakes from the Gold Coast as well as 2 x G1's from Morphettville (Sangster Stakes & Australasian Oaks) Australian Group Races

Terrific thread Picket ... Paul was one of my favourites as well because he kept getting the ball and his disposal was excellent considering his size. He kept burrowing in all day and averaged over 22 disposals for his entire career (according to AFL Tables) 85% were kicks to position though. Was upset when he went to St Kilda and never knew the reason why until now (Ian Ridley being removed being the catalyst reason)

From a personal point of view Wadda, 2 out of 3 ain't bad ? Sweated up a bit before the race did Dadoozdart. Didn't finish off as a consequence (?) And I'm in the habit of taking the first 2 choices (as they are sequentially run) as we've historicall got the first 2 legs up (on occasions) And Laddies will give a 2nd odds boost with the extra runner (or the reduced runner) if you wait till the next day. In other words put the tri bet on Thurs/Fri and then the early double on Sat. That's how I do it anyway. Odds boost is a priority though ... in terms of percentages.

Got 14-1 on the early double lads (thanks to DZ) And if Daddoozart salutes it's party time (virtual)

Best Bet (Saturday) Flemington Race 4 No.9 Good Idea (Place) $3.50

Didn't Big Carl belt 5 or 6 Collingwood players in his last game for us? (Round 22 1980) The headband & the handkerchief were his trademarks. Not to be messed with was Ditterich. A nasty piece of work and of course, a very good player. Laurie Fowler regarded him as his best coach.

Could be that the 2Pick (double) works best Wadda ... but the place odds need to represent a bit of value Also, another way is to look for on pace horses that have drawm well, in good form and the race being a sprint (1000m / 1200m) Again, the odds are all important.

Our club often has 10 players or so on the injured list and some players often play injured (Brayshaw, Jones, T-Mac, Viney et al) Having a list of only 35 players when 22 have to play is cutting things way too fine. Soccer lists are quite extensive (counting all those that are loaned out) yet only a maximum of 14 play in a game. There are other examples including a sport like baseball where the MLB clubs have numerous players to call on.

The whole reduced lists idea is being sold in a way that makes sense to the average footy fan. Unless one is a cynic. Should we ditch the highly costly under 18 comp as well? Not exactly cost effective in pure money terms The staff and coaches at all those under 18 clubs would cost a pretty packet. The next tier's down in a lot of sports need to be heavily subsidised ... Aussie rules included So I'm in favour of retaining the reserves and the Under 18 comp - even though both comps are costly to run.

Effectively sacking 180 players means that the elite and those below the elite get to keep most (if not all) of their individual salaries. Where was this talk before the pandemic DJ? Now, the reduced lists are being 'sold' in a different way but I'm not buying I often do go along with the crowd though ... I truly believe that here in this country we are doing a fantastic job in fighting the virus We should be proud of ourselves but we can't relax for a minute

Not if you pay the last 25 players on a list a lot less money and slice a good portion at the top end. As it stands, the elite and those just below the elite would want to keep their salary's intact. It's why the talk is to cut the lists. That's how I see it and ultimately, it would be a short sighted move to cut the lists. And because of the 25%* injury rate the lists probably need to be increased (with greatly reduced salaries - especially at the top end) During these times many will talk through their hip pocket. Which is fair enough but that hip pocket nerve is often difficult to see with all the bs that flies around. * that percentage can be as low as 20% but sometimes up to 30% (injury rate)

They could get rid of the reserves but they'd bring it back down the track. Back 20+ years ago there was a push for the Victorian teams to align themselves with a VFA team but as time went on the AFL teams found they were in need of their own reserves team where they got to call the shots. The Sheffield Shield is subsidised to the tune of over $10Million each season. But the Shield is necessary. As is reserves footy. What happens to the players who don't play in the seniors? Are they billeted out all over the place? They'd just be creating another problem if the reserves were ditched. A short-sighted move.

Yeah Joao is in top form ... Zac hasn't had the rides today which changes the dynamic. 2 of Moreira's wins today have been odds-on favourites but of course those shorties can work in multi's. He missed completely on another odds on chance in race 6 - Heza Beauty. Was probably one of the bets of the day too. I thought so anyway ? But that's horse racing for you Wadda.