The biggest talking point, which unfortunately has plagued New Zealand racing in recent years, is the track ratings being so far off the mark on G1 racedays it is embarrassing. They are asking people to wager their money on what look like hopeless guesses at best and sugarcoating potential turnover loss at worst. Once again the Chief Steward of New Zealand racing in Ross Neal was espousing before the Te Aroha meeting today and the Dead 6 was just a joke plus he had four other stewards on course with him. The stewards names on their own official report for the day list M Williamson (former rider), A Coles, W Robinson (former rider who rode some champions) and B Jones, so what is going on? Neal espoused on the G1 Auckland Cup day last month that Ellerslie was a Good 3 but the times showed drastically otherwise and with five stewards at his disposal then. He had that day on course J Oatham, N McIntyre, M Williamson, A Coles and P Kinsey, so what is going on? If they do not know what the track is then do not say it, as it has become an insult to bettors in 2013 with G1 meetings at Ellerslie, Trentham and Te Rapa boarding on absolute farce. Over-watering has come back to beclown several major racemeetings in recent years and add in the rail sometimes moved out on clubs biggest racedays it is now utter G1 madness. In what could be described as akin to a ‘Dead Parrot’ sketch the Te Aroha track after chopping up deluxe like a sodden ploughed paddock was downgraded to Slow 7 after a Race One. The realization a Monty Pythonesque episode was unfolding once again on a G1 New Zealand raceday caused panic and the ministry of silly walks soon saw canters become full gallops to downgrade again. Just to show racing officialdom still do not know what hand is doing what or watering when it went back another point to a Slow 8 after Race Four and it should have gone lower looking at the G1 time today. Whoever is doing the penetrometer needs to be replaced or re-educated on how and where to do the test or perhaps the thing should be scrapped as the inaccuracy is astounding. A lawn dart thrown by a ‘Norwegian Blue’ would be more accurate. Greenkeepers this season in particular are predicting the track they have produced is two seconds faster (12 lengths) than what the stark reality of race times highlight from the outset and throughout the day. They are given television time as if bettors can confidently invest on their judgment with surety but like the stewards, presenters and selected riders and trainers, it is almost always like buying Enron shares. Some professionalism is long overdue and add in accountability as no one is offering up any factual or believable information now yet they want your turnover. The times all day at Te Aroha were at least two seconds (twelve lengths) slower from the outset and were closer to three lengths worse nearer the end of the day or eighteen lengths. The winner today Xanadu, which ran third in the race last year, finally got a G1 win after being a constant placegetter at this level but the wet track played into her hands. She clocked after coming down the outer on an awfully presented track 1:39.42 for the mile and this is the staggering fact that makes the officials originally rating the track a Dead 6 as simply wasting the time and money of bettors. The time of Xanadu is the third slowest in the history of the race and that goes back to 1971, so you would think any anomaly would be filtered out by the weight of so much data (42 years of results). The slowest time was 1:42.50 in 1998 by Aimee Jay on an absolute bog and the second slowest time is 1:39.56 by My Good Omen in 1988 and that is only just faster than Xanadu. The track record for a mile at Te Aroha is 1:33.70 set by Waikiki in this very race in 1990. Bettors want the truth and not guesses or fudging facts to save collapsing turnover. Te Aroha on their only G1 raceday all year served up a disgrace in terms of track presentation and heads should roll. Two years ago the winner was Barinka and can you believe the NZ racing time officially afforded to the mare on a Slow 7 is 1:35.8. This keeping up appearances to help turnover has been happening for a while now (and failing as the truth will always benefit in both the short and long run). Compare that to Xanadu today on a Slow 8 and is the gap really 3.6 seconds or just over twenty-one lengths for a single downgrade point? Of course it is not so who is kidding who? Michael Coleman the winning rider has been around for a while so knew wisely to angle out wider turning for home. He won this race in 1995 atop Mahoenui Lass, also for a Matamata stable. The stablemates Twilight Granita and Diademe filled the placings and the former was second up and going from a Ratings 75 at 1400m to a G1 mile. Normally that would be a bridge too far but not when a blatantly over-watered track is dished up. The rest of the finishers can just forget the day as the track presented was farcical on the only G1 race for fillies and mares in a season, so it is rather important they get things right. Fancy setting your filly or mare for this one G1 target and then the track presented is an over-watered policy gluepot. The warning bells about lack of faith in the well-paid racing officialdom have been ringing loudly in recent years but are peeling deluxe in 2013 with calamity after calamity. These are not midweek meetings for the lesser lights, as this is happening on G1 racedays and if you want to showcase the top shelf then stop the monopoly misinformation line. Tell the truth and the rest will fall into place but to try and keep up a stiff upper lip when asking bettors to increase turnover with their money is obscene. You earn the respect of bettors by showing them respect.