I'm not a fan of business jargon. You know the words and phrases I'm talking about - ''green fields approach'', ''going forward'', ''maximising potential''.
But I can't help but use the phrase ''silo thinking'' when I think of the racing on Labour Day Monday.
There were two good meetings on Monday. Firstly, there was the Ashburton harness meeting, which featured the group 2 Ashburton Flying Stakes, chock-full of New Zealand Cup contenders.
Further north, the Waikato Racing club had its traditional Labour Day fixture, including the James and Annie Sarten Memorial, which is gaining in popularity as an appealing option for 3yr-olds heading towards the 1000 and 2000 Guineas in Christchurch.
What's the best way to give both feature races the best coverage - not have them running one after the other, right?You'd think so, but here we were on Monday, with the Sarten Memorial at 3.30pm and the Flying Stakes at 3.42pm.
To be fair to Trackside, even with the Sarten Memorial running a few minutes late, the studio director did a great job with squeezing in an aftermath interview with the trainer at Te Rapa before joining the Ashburton coverage about five minutes out.
But surely it would be common sense for a quick email between the respective codes - be it at national level or at club level - to find out when the features were being held at each venue, and schedule them a good hour or so apart so both races get the lead-ins they deserve?
A long dropIt seems we've come full circle in the world of harness racing, as we're now back to the ''C'' grading system, to describe a horse's placement on the handicapping ladder.
Credit goes to the horsemen and the HRNZ handicapping department who are trying to find ways to keep as many horses racing despite a dwindling breeding scene.
Every 10 unplaced starts sees a horse drop back a grade, with c1 the lowest grade a winning horse can drop back to.
Captain Peacock is a perfect example of a horse who will benefit from the new drop-back system.
He was handicapped as a six-win horse on the old system, but has not won in 31 starts, and begins in a c3 race at Kaikoura on Sunday.
The best way to follow the drop backs is to check out the fields on hrnz.co.nz and look for the assessment drop-back notifications underneath each field.
Lazy Fiver
Yes, this is still here. Yes, I am ashamed at the Lazy Fiver's recent results. No, I will not give up. I'm no film buff, but let's try Polanski in the VRC Derby at Flemington on Saturday at 5pm.
His form at Melbourne's best tracks has been super, and one of the best jockeys in Australasia, Hugh Bowman, does the steering.
