Transport SUBSIDIES needs a whole NEW RETHINK by PHUMELELA.

recently P announced that as of 01 Oct. the transport subsidy TO KIMBERLEY was to fall away. As far as I know this is still the case.

Let me explain what I know of subsidies as a layman ( If I am incorrect, someone please correct me cause this issue needs a major rethink, I believe )

I have been told a while ago, that ALL private trainers i.e. those that dont train at Vaal, Turffs, Randjies get a travel subsidy to get their horses to the race course. I am told that P pays a fee of R 600 per horse to get the " private trained " runners to the course. Apparently they are paid this fee to maintain their own training establishments..... as opposed to Turffs or Vaal, where P maintain those training establishments. While the private training establishments may need assistance with their day to day running costs, let me remind you that when a trainer LEAVES Turffontein as a trainer..... he leaves voets toets.... any improvements he has made to his stables, he is not compensated for. He leaves finnish & klaar.

Lets remember the " private trainer " when he sells his plot or farm, any IMPROVEMENTS he makes, may result in a better selling price of that establishment.

Let me get onto my gripe of TRANSPORT SUBSIDIES.
trainer W lives 3 kms from Vaal
trainer Z lives 20 kms from Vaal
Trainer N lives 100 kms from Turffontein

from what I have been told, ALL those trainers get R 600 per horse to get their horse to course on raceday.

so trainer W travels 3kms & sends 8 horses to vaal & collects R 4,800 thanks very much ( I'll repeat that 4 x per month )
trainer N travels 100kms there, 100 kms back, sends 2 horses to course & he gets R 1200 not so nice , barely breaks even me thinks.

The Joburg / Kimberley trainers WERE getting the SAME R 600,00 per horse - to raid Kimberley ( Joburg to Kimberley is about 600 KMS for those that dont know )

We've been told that that was a temporary arrangement to get weaker Joburg horses to the minor centre,& to increase the fields,

This has been abolished now.......... GOD alone know's why. ( bottom line I guess )

Next Kimberley meeting I have counted 23 horses from Joburg / P.E. raiding Kimberley at a cost to PH of R 13,800.00

To me this is a small amount for P to pay in the greater scheme of things. BIGGER FIELDS AT ALL RACECOURSES = BIGGER TURNOVER, POSSIBLY BIGGER PAYOUTS.

Those trainers that train OUTSIDE of KIMBERLEY, if they are collecting the same subsidies, then I believe they must also be paid PER KMS. TRAVELLED. This also needs to be addressed, urgently.
.

How can you drive 3kms & get R 600 per horse.
The next trainer travels 80 kms.... he gets paid the same R 600.00 per horse.

It needs to be PAID ON DISTANCE TRAVELLED to renumeration.

1 - 50 kms = R ?
50 - 100 KMS = R ? ## AND SO ON.

P think about this carefully, think about your turnover OR LOSS OF TURNOVER with smaller fields.

WE ALREADY HAVE R2 IN KIMBERLEY NEXT WEEK, WITH 1 TRAINER HAVING 7 out of 8 RUNNERS........ nice business if you can get it.

Food for thought ?

That race should be closed to betting...

Txs for the post Elvis certainly does appear strange.

A trainer who I've never spoken to in my life before, phoned me this morning with a suggestion with subsidies. He does not want to get into a slinging match on this site.
He suggests, each & every trainer - private / or Phum based, gets billed R1,000 per month per box. When that horse runs, once or even twice a month, that trainer gets a subsidy from Ph say + / - R 800.00 per RUNNER. So if a horse runs 2 x per month that horse shows a return of R 1600. - so actually R 600 to the good.

Payment for each box by a trainer prevents horses that are sick, lame & lazy / injured from taking up that box unnecessarily. I was told the following happened in U.S.A. - a horse retrurned from a race lame. The following day the vet checked out the horse & said to the trainer - you've got 21 days to get this horse back into a race or remove it from the stables to a farm. This ruling ensures that the stables on course only house horses that are fit & ready to run, & then these vacant stables can accept new horses ready to run.

would the above suggested subsidy suit most trainers ?

a lot of viewing, but virtually no one has anything to say. Pity. obviously most " viewers " are happy as things are. so be it.

I don't really know enough about this, but imo, the only subsidies that should be paid should be subsidies (and these should be pro-rata depending on the distance from the relevant race track) to private trainers in order to get 'their' horses to and from the track on race day

I can't believe you would begrudge the R600 to trainers away from a training centre. At training centres trainers are subsidized to the extent that the racing operators pay out far more than what they collect in rent.

We've gone from jockey's who have to 'give' to the grooms to canceling a traveling/no subsidy fee. You guys gonna start bashing old women next or having a height criteria as to who can buy shares? Must be quiet times, can't wait to see what's making you itch next.

JD, I am not 'begrudging' anybody anything, and if a subsidy is needed to level the playing fields between private trainers and trainers training at the training centres, I cna accept that; but if part of the amount paid is meant to be a 'transport subsidy' paid to private trainers who can not make use of the 'normal' transport available to trainers at training centres, I don't think it is fair that a trainer whose horses travel 5 km to the track gets the same amount as the trainer that needs to travel 50 km.