Shaheen Shaw...

can't the CITIZEN or SPORTING POST set up an opinion poll.

put ALL RACING TV, TT presenters on the list................. let the public tell " PHUM " who is GREAT & who is SH!TE ..

FC Wrote:

---

> Iam sure KR had a high profile position in either
> NZ or Ausie racing prior to his appointment to
> TT???

I have hunted on the internet to no avail so now have emailed a mate in NZ who will know for sure,but no matter what he did in NZ or Aus he is not doing Teletrack any favors....the man is not an asset in any way what so ever and needs to be removed ASAP

This was dated March 2011



NICCI GARNER

KENNETH ROBERT RUTHERFORD, born on 26 October 1965 in Dunedin, New Zealand, has been a racing fan since early childhood when his brother Neil, started work at the local harness racing track as a probationary driver.

“One of my earliest memories was watching Young Quinn race in the 1970s. He was New Zealand’s champion harness horse and also broke records in America and Canada. As I got older, I got more involved in thoroughbred horseracing and my interest spiralled. I always enjoyed a punt but also enjoy watching the horses, and I’ve got shares in a couple of horses now – one thoroughbred and one standard-bred.’’

A “considerably talented’’ cricketer, who some believe did not quite reach his full potential, he was recruited to the New Zealand squad as an opening batsman in 1985 when his national team travelled to the Caribbean to play West Indies at their height. He made a pair of ducks in his First Test match and aggregated 12 runs in seven innings in the series.

Despite a slow start to his international cricketing career, he did become a regular in the New Zealand cricket squad in the next decade, captaining the team from 1992 to 1995 when he was unceremoniously dropped despite getting amongst the runs. Not yet ready to retire, he quit his homeland to play first-class cricket for Gauteng and work part-time as a presenter for Tellytrack.

Among the many highlights of his career as a cricketer were 56 Tests and 121 one-day internationals and a score of 317 runs at Scarborough in 1986. Those runs included eight sixes and 45 fours – all scored in one day, with a phenomenal 199 in the lunch-to-tea session. According to Wikipedia, only one cricketer, Don Bradman, has scored more runs in a single session.

The biography of his international cricketing career, “A Hell Of A Way To Make A Living’’, co-authored by Chris Mirams, was published in 1995.

He retired in 2000 when he was invited to coach the Irish cricket team, an experience that confirmed coaching cricket teams was not for Rutherford.

Rutherford returned to New Zealand to head up sports betting at the New Zealand TAB. “We left Dublin the day after 9-11,’’ he remembers. “Connecting flights through Heathrow were total chaos.’’

He also became a part-time continuity announcer (from 2001-03) for Trackside TV in New Zealand and studied part-time for a post-graduate diploma in Strategic and Change Management, Business Finance and Marketing at Charles Stuart University.

“There are no legal bookmakers in New Zealand but the markets there are fairly wide-spanning so the fixed-odds offering through the New Zealand tote was a market that had to be explored. Surprisingly, we found that turnovers improved on races where fixed-odds betting was offered in unison with tote betting. The fixed-odds betting helped to market the race. They’ve built on that and are offering fixed-odds wagering on nearly every race now.

“I played a part in getting it up and running, heading up the trading team and the on-course division, where we offered prices and heckled with the public to create more atmosphere. It kicked on well and is part of the New Zealand racing fabric now.’’

In April 2006, Rutherford was head-hunted by Singapore Pools, the national lottery and sports betting operator in Singapore, which needed to “swipe back the gambling dollar that had been lost with the opening of two mega casinos.

“Everybody underestimated the negative impact the casinos would have on turnover and they were making frantic efforts to make up the shortfall. Unfortunately, Singapore Pools could not compete with illegal bookmakers on a level playing field in such a tightly regulated environment.’’

Singapore Pools needed someone to head up the sports betting team to traverse the minefield of getting government approval for betting on football (introduced in 2002) and motor racing (2008) and then to market the new bets, as well as training the staff.

“From being basically a nine-to-five operation, we had to go round the clock and I faced many personnel issues, especially in trying to inject enthusiasm into a complacent worker environment.

“After a few years, with the government not allowing us to try new things, I decided to look for opportunities elsewhere. I’d been told that Phumelela Gold Enterprises was looking for somebody, so I decided to take the plunge, for better or worse.’’

Rutherford, his wife Gail – a South African – and daughters Caitlin and Holly, arrived in Johannesburg in the middle of January. His older sons Hamish (21, also a first-class cricketer) and Tom (19) are in New Zealand.

“It’s been an interesting month or so,’’ he says. “It’s a big role I’ve taken on and we’ll see how things progress in the next six to 12 months.

“I’ll be focusing more on Tellytrack to begin with. I’m no TV expert and I don’t expect to make any sweeping changes, rather to progress Tellytrack and other parts of the media as positively and progressively as I can.

“My biggest immediate challenge is to develop the trust and respect of the people I’m working with. This is a big cultural change for me and my staff, and getting people to understand where I’m coming from will take time and good communication.

“I’ll be approaching Tellytrack from a managerial and administrative perspective, not only editorial. I’d like to see the channel becoming world class – it’s not far off. It ticks a lot of boxes for the punter and the feedback I’m getting is mostly positive.

“Everyone’s got an opinion about how best to utilise the whole service – not just Tellytrack, but Phumelela and Gold Circle’s publications as well. So I won’t be able to map a way forward through consensus. I’m happy to make those calls, though – as long as I see positive progress.’’

Switching gears, Rutherford said South Africa was well regarded in foreign climes, with “horsemen like Mike de Kock, Patrick Shaw and Douglas Whyte flying the South African flag loudly and proudly’’ and the quality of bloodstock produced locally – “horses like Lizard’s Desire, who gave South Africa yet another iconic sporting moment last year’’ – rivalling New Zealand and Australia.

He then switched back to his portfolio: “There has probably been a lack of responsibility from the mainstream media that there have not been more good sporting stories about men like Mike de Kock. He’s reached the pinnacle of his profession on a global basis and is a colourful character.

“But there seems to be a mindset among journos – here and in New Zealand and Australia – that horseracing is a business, not a sport or a social event (like cricket is a social event for the spectators).’’

Rutherford is mightily concerned about the worldwide trend of dipping turnovers and says that “international product is critical to the longevity of horseracing’’ and challenges “everyone who loves the game to bring ideas to the table on how to invigorate the domestic part of the game’’.

“Wagering is a significant part of the business,’’ he says. “But there is also a requirement to fulfil the obligations of the wider racing community and getting the balance right will be a challenge.’’

2008


Ken RutherfordLocality: Singapore
Summary: Head of Sportsbetting at Singapore Pools
Past: Sportsbetting Manager at New Zealand Racing Board Head of Sportsbetting at New Zealand TAB
Education: Charles Sturt University Strategic and Change Management, Business Finance, Marketing (2004-2006)

Industry: Gambling & Casinos
Experience: Singapore Pools (Government Agency; 501-1000 employees; Gambling & Casinos industry): Head of Sportsbetting,
New Zealand Racing Board (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Gambling & Casinos industry): Sportsbetting Manager, (2004-2006)
New Zealand TAB (Gambling & Casinos industry): Head of Sportsbetting, (2001-2006)&...
Interests: career opportunities, consulting offers, new ventures, job inquiries, expertise requests, reference requests, getting back in touch
More info at:http://radaris.asia/p/Ken/Rutherford/

January 2011


FORMER New Zealand cricket captain Ken Rutherford has been appointed to head up the Marketing, Communications, Publishing and Telemedia functions at Phumelela Gold Enterprises (PGE).

Rutherford will start in his position as Media Executive for PGE on Monday and will have an office at both Turffontein Racecourse and the Tellytrack studios in Rivonia. He will report directly to Phumelela’s Group Chief Executive Officer Rian du Plessis.



Rutherford has been a life-long horseracing enthusiast – even during his cricket career, which also saw him captain the Highveld Lions in the late 1990s.



He was educated in New Zealand and in Sydney, Australia, where he did a post-graduate certificate programme in strategic management, marketing and finance.



From 2006 until the end of last year he was head of sports betting at Singapore Pools and prior to that was head of sports betting at New Zealand TAB from 2003. He was a part-time presenter on Tellytrack in the late 1990s and a horseracing presenter in New Zealand between 2001 and 2003.



Rutherford’s extensive media experience includes hosting radio shows, continuity announcements for Trackside Television, and live commentaries on national radio stations in New Zealand and elsewhere. He has written columns for a variety of publications. His television experience in South Africa includes being a panelist on the South African sports show “Super Saturday” and a continuity announcer and on-course presenter on Tellytrack.



“I would like to congratulate Ken on joining our executive team and wish him the very best in his career with PGE,’’ said Du Plessis.

Countrymember Wrote:

---

> Sighned....................(tu).....JTL...........
> says I was number 162..........if you were 200 I
> hope Ken is not busy deleting.......:S


ROFLMAO X(

@harris that's wonderful!! Pity he then with that cv arrived here and offered Darryl Marree a lousy and insulting R50 increase per shift. We lost one of our favourites for what one would tip a Singapore luggage handler. Instead now have to put up with his mates.

Daryl the best we have ever had. I also googled Ken and came up with nothing. I then remembered he worked in Singapore so googled his name + Singapore and got the info above. I must say I am still surprised that the job was not given to a local.

Harris Wrote:

---

> This was dated March 2011
>
>
>
> NICCI GARNER
>
> KENNETH ROBERT RUTHERFORD, born on 26 October 1965
> in Dunedin, New Zealand, has been a racing fan
> since early childhood when his brother Neil,
> started work at the local harness racing track as
> a probationary driver.
>
> “One of my earliest memories was watching Young
> Quinn race in the 1970s. He was New Zealand’s
> champion harness horse and also broke records in
> America and Canada. As I got older, I got more
> involved in thoroughbred horseracing and my
> interest spiralled. I always enjoyed a punt but
> also enjoy watching the horses, and I’ve got
> shares in a couple of horses now – one
> thoroughbred and one standard-bred.’’
>
> A “considerably talented’’ cricketer, who
> some believe did not quite reach his full
> potential, he was recruited to the New Zealand
> squad as an opening batsman in 1985 when his
> national team travelled to the Caribbean to play
> West Indies at their height. He made a pair of
> ducks in his First Test match and aggregated 12
> runs in seven innings in the series.
>
> Despite a slow start to his international
> cricketing career, he did become a regular in the
> New Zealand cricket squad in the next decade,
> captaining the team from 1992 to 1995 when he was
> unceremoniously dropped despite getting amongst
> the runs. Not yet ready to retire, he quit his
> homeland to play first-class cricket for Gauteng
> and work part-time as a presenter for Tellytrack.
>
> Among the many highlights of his career as a
> cricketer were 56 Tests and 121 one-day
> internationals and a score of 317 runs at
> Scarborough in 1986. Those runs included eight
> sixes and 45 fours – all scored in one day, with
> a phenomenal 199 in the lunch-to-tea session.
> According to Wikipedia, only one cricketer, Don
> Bradman, has scored more runs in a single
> session.
>
> The biography of his international cricketing
> career, “A Hell Of A Way To Make A Living’’,
> co-authored by Chris Mirams, was published in
> 1995.
>
> He retired in 2000 when he was invited to coach
> the Irish cricket team, an experience that
> confirmed coaching cricket teams was not for
> Rutherford.
>
> Rutherford returned to New Zealand to head up
> sports betting at the New Zealand TAB. “We left
> Dublin the day after 9-11,’’ he remembers.
> “Connecting flights through Heathrow were total
> chaos.’’
>
> He also became a part-time continuity announcer
> (from 2001-03) for Trackside TV in New Zealand and
> studied part-time for a post-graduate diploma in
> Strategic and Change Management, Business Finance
> and Marketing at Charles Stuart University.
>
> “There are no legal bookmakers in New Zealand
> but the markets there are fairly wide-spanning so
> the fixed-odds offering through the New Zealand
> tote was a market that had to be explored.
> Surprisingly, we found that turnovers improved on
> races where fixed-odds betting was offered in
> unison with tote betting. The fixed-odds betting
> helped to market the race. They’ve built on that
> and are offering fixed-odds wagering on nearly
> every race now.
>
> “I played a part in getting it up and running,
> heading up the trading team and the on-course
> division, where we offered prices and heckled with
> the public to create more atmosphere. It kicked
> on well and is part of the New Zealand racing
> fabric now.’’
>
> In April 2006, Rutherford was head-hunted by
> Singapore Pools, the national lottery and sports
> betting operator in Singapore, which needed to
> “swipe back the gambling dollar that had been
> lost with the opening of two mega casinos.
>
> “Everybody underestimated the negative impact
> the casinos would have on turnover and they were
> making frantic efforts to make up the shortfall.
> Unfortunately, Singapore Pools could not compete
> with illegal bookmakers on a level playing field
> in such a tightly regulated environment.’’
>
> Singapore Pools needed someone to head up the
> sports betting team to traverse the minefield of
> getting government approval for betting on
> football (introduced in 2002) and motor racing
> (2008) and then to market the new bets, as well as
> training the staff.
>
> “From being basically a nine-to-five operation,
> we had to go round the clock and I faced many
> personnel issues, especially in trying to inject
> enthusiasm into a complacent worker environment.
>
> “After a few years, with the government not
> allowing us to try new things, I decided to look
> for opportunities elsewhere. I’d been told that
> Phumelela Gold Enterprises was looking for
> somebody, so I decided to take the plunge, for
> better or worse.’’
>
> Rutherford, his wife Gail – a South African –
> and daughters Caitlin and Holly, arrived in
> Johannesburg in the middle of January. His older
> sons Hamish (21, also a first-class cricketer) and
> Tom (19) are in New Zealand.
>
> “It’s been an interesting month or so,’’
> he says. “It’s a big role I’ve taken on and
> we’ll see how things progress in the next six to
> 12 months.
>
> “I’ll be focusing more on Tellytrack to begin
> with. I’m no TV expert and I don’t expect to
> make any sweeping changes, rather to progress
> Tellytrack and other parts of the media as
> positively and progressively as I can.
>
> “My biggest immediate challenge is to develop
> the trust and respect of the people I’m working
> with. This is a big cultural change for me and my
> staff, and getting people to understand where
> I’m coming from will take time and good
> communication....:
>
> “I’ll be approaching Tellytrack from a
> managerial and administrative perspective, not
> only editorial. I’d like to see the channel
> becoming world class – it’s not far off. It
> ticks a lot of boxes for the punter and the
> feedback I’m getting is mostly positive.....:S
>
> “Everyone’s got an opinion about how best to
> utilise the whole service – not just Tellytrack,
> but Phumelela and Gold Circle’s publications as
> well. So I won’t be able to map a way forward
> through consensus. I’m happy to make those
> calls, though – as long as I see positive
> progress.’’
>
> Switching gears, Rutherford said South Africa was
> well regarded in foreign climes, with “horsemen
> like Mike de Kock, Patrick Shaw and Douglas Whyte
> flying the South African flag loudly and
> proudly’’ and the quality of bloodstock
> produced locally – “horses like Lizard’s
> Desire, who gave South Africa yet another iconic
> sporting moment last year’’ – rivalling New
> Zealand and Australia.
>
> He then switched back to his portfolio: “There
> has probably been a lack of responsibility from
> the mainstream media that there have not been more
> good sporting stories about men like Mike de Kock.
> He’s reached the pinnacle of his profession on a
> global basis and is a colourful character.
>
> “But there seems to be a mindset among journos
> – here and in New Zealand and Australia – that
> horseracing is a business, not a sport or a social
> event (like cricket is a social event for the
> spectators).’’.... BUT that's how his employer sees horseracing as well...:
>
> Rutherford is mightily concerned about the
> worldwide trend of dipping turnovers and says that
> “international product is critical to the
> longevity of horseracing’’ and challenges
> “everyone who loves the game to bring ideas to
> the table on how to invigorate the domestic part
> of the game’’.
>
> “Wagering is a significant part of the
> business,’’ he says. “But there is also a
> requirement to fulfil the obligations of the wider
> racing community and getting the balance right
> will be a challenge.’’...

So what has Ken done in the 18 months or so that he has been in charge...??

I don't mean to sound heavy Harris. No offence.. Just stating what I think.

A “considerably talented’’ cricketer, who some believe did not quite reach his full potential, he was recruited to the New Zealand squad as an opening batsman in 1985 when his national team travelled to the Caribbean to play West Indies at their height. He made a pair of ducks in his First Test match and aggregated 12 runs in seven innings in the series.

Despite a slow start to his international cricketing career, he did become a regular in the New Zealand cricket squad in the next decade, captaining the team from 1992 to 1995 when he was unceremoniously dropped despite getting amongst the runs. Not yet ready to retire, he quit his homeland to play first-class cricket for Gauteng and work part-time as a presenter for Tellytrack.

Averages as taken from cricinfo.com....We musnt laugh as this probably makes him the 2nd best NZ all rounder to Sir R Hadlee.

Test ave.........27.08 in 99 innings....took 1 wicket for 161 runs
ODI ave..........29.65 in 115 innings......took 10 wickets for 323 runs.........

He captained Gauteng in South Africa, also had a spell as Ireland's coach, and rivalled Doug Walters as one of cricket's legendary punters.
Wisden Cricinfo staff October 2004 ........

Jack of all trades...master of none