I had been waiting for official word of the new appointment, but in the world of racing, secrets are generally kept atrociously, to say the least.
So I'll tell you now the new man calling the gallops, greyhounds and harness racing in Otago (along with some other meetings around the South Island) is Jason Teaz. Jason is based in the Waikato, where he and wife Megan train trotters and pacers, but he will be down here by mid-November in time to call his first meeting at Forbury Park on November 21.
As is the way of racing, I've had a little bit to do with Jason in the past, and he has a very easy voice to listen to. The beauty of the Otago racing scene is the friendliness of the locals and I'm sure that will extend to Jason as well when he arrives. I'll have a chat to him when he gets down here.
Taking on the trotters
Enjoy taking a Pick6? Reckon your knowledge of trotters in both the North and South islands is impeccable?
Let's see about that. The TAB has decided to test your punting ability tonight with a $100,000 turbo terminating Pick6 run over six trotting races - three at Addington and three at Alexandra Park.
Sure, the Canterbury Park Trotting Cup is among the six races, so there are plenty of well-established trotters there, but the rest of the legs? Good gracious. It'll be tougher than chomping your way through low-grade steak. The first leg starts at Addington at 7.15pm. I'll be letting the computer throw in a couple of selections in some of the legs.
Around the tracks
We were having a bit of a chat in the sports department yesterday about which tracks - or in the case of the rugby writers, which stadiums - we have been to around this fair land of ours.
After a quick tally-up using my toes, fingers and some matchsticks I found lying around, I worked out I've visited 22 racecourses in total around New Zealand, and a couple overseas (Randwick and Flemington).
I've got big gaps on the West Coast, the top of the South Island and much of the North Island, which I can rectify if I can convince the boss that a fully paid road trip is required. I'm in no doubt many of you can leave my amount comfortably in the shade. I'd like to hear from anyone who has topped 50, and I'll accept any track on your list that has held a totalisator meeting in the last 50 years.
Lazy Fiver
Stick with me. Please. We'll get one home soon. It's hard to know what La Girl will be paying in the last at Winton on Sunday, but Steven Anderton thinks a bit of her. She should have sharpened up even more after her second at Winton in September.
