Being The Judge

There's a new You Be The Judge in the pipeline.
Subject "Merit Rating System - Is It Correct"
(suppose they mean "Is It Working").

Apparently a panel has been convened, to be chaired by Neil Andrews.
In the red corner ("nay") the Owner's Champion Clyde Basel and Trainer Joe Soma.
In the blue corner ("ay") Vee Moodley and Roger Smith, both from the Jockey Club.

I notice a punter's delegation seems to have been regarded as superfluous.
Breeders are also absent.

Can anything meaningful come from this set-up?

Lets hope they discuss a horse such as Red Tribution.

Owners and trainers VS National HR Authority
or
Prisoners VS Guards

Had a look on formgrids - still a 79. What am I not understanding? i know that I go on about this but this is one that I have picked up on. How many more horses are in a similar situation. I would be bleak if I owned this horse, fair enough he has earned consistantly but we race to win not to place.

Jack,
you advocating a prison break?

Merit Rating System - Is It Correct

I am sure I don't understand the question.

Are we wondering whether or not 1kg is worth a length over 1600m?

I have absolutely nothing against Vee or Roger, but without at least one non-handicapper past or present on the 'aye' team this debate promises to be almost worthless. Rightly or wrongly, many will see the NHA's contribution as little more than an ars-covering exercise.

Morning, yes maybe David Safi, Frodo, Al? could be a bit one sided, still looking for a show with a bit bite!

> is it true that no cognisance is taken for
> apprentice allowances..

true
and in black type races no allowance allowed
except once where they !@#$% up

I think the subject should have been 'Is is being applied correctly'; to which most would probably answer 'no'; so then there should be a follow up show 'can it be fixed and how'

I think the subject should be

"Does handicapping deliver the best racing can offer"

There should be no handicaps or penalties of any kind for horses through the Classics. After that, once horses have all had a chance to take full advantage of their respective talents, they can be subjected to the handicapper.

There are two aspects to horse racing: a) to figure out which are the best horses and b) provide an interesting betting opportunity to punters.

Let the punters wait until after the Oaks and Derby have been run to have their interesting gambling opportunities. In the meantime, let the horses sort themselves out so that breeders can properly assess them.

Furthermore, the media pays scant little attention to how much weight an animal carries in relation to its rivals when covering a race in the press.