MY E-MAIL TO RA, SPORTING POST - RA MUST STAND UP

To whom it may concern,

As a member of the racing association i would like to know how the Racing Association is standing up for my rights? Firstly in the previous racing season we had quite a few abandoned race meetings due to rain and wet underfoot conditions but only a few race meetings were re-scheduled and not with the same races carded as the abandoned ones. Why is it that major race meetings can be re-scheduled and move [Summer Cup of 2009] up to three times but a small qualified race meeting [referring to the Vaal Thursday 14 October 2010] is completely abandoned and not re-scheduled or replaced with a similar meeting?

My despair is the fact that i am a small owner, pay big money for stabling and training fees and due to abandoned meetings have to start the nominating process all over again and if I’m lucky get a decent draw or not eliminated. One of my horses was eliminated three times so far in October 2010 and where should I go to get into a race. He is a maiden with one run under the belt but I get eliminated every time we nominate? Can’t racing operators foresee that over 1200 yearlings are sold annually but we sit with two, maybe three maiden races per meeting. There are not enough maiden races as the proof is to be seen in the nomination process namely that over 70 maidens get nominated, 32 get declared but only one race is scheduled????? Can’t racing operators streamline this problem? Set up more maiden race days like in the past, re – schedule or move smaller meetings. Us small owners are in racing for the passion and it is still a business if run correctly but can’t be done if racing operators don’t support us and look after us.

My question is what is the Racing Association doing for me to ensure that more maiden races are implemented cause what’s the use of having merit rated handicaps benchmarked 90 plus with seven or eight runners for huge stakes but maidens don’t get more chances to run and go through the ranks. What will you do for us small owners to rather have meetings moved rather than abandoned? In fact, what happens to all the stake monies of abandoned meetings? Yeah, I am told goes back into the re-scheduled meetings and taking score, that didn’t happen in the previous season cause i was involved in two other abandoned meetings and was never re-scheduled with the same races as the abandoned one’s. Yeah, extra meetings were added but not as many as was abandoned.

This problem MUST be addressed! Breeders can’t have us buy babies at ridiculous prices and expect they must earn their purchase prices if there is not enough scheduled races to do so especially maiden races. How do you want racing to survive? You honestly think the big owners are going to be strong enough to race on their own? No way, it’s us smaller owners that keep the chain intact, keep smaller trainers alive, pay the majority of grooms their salaries and bonuses etc. If the small owner vanish there won’t be stakes for the big owners and will we have a similar problem as in Zimbabwe where they race for fun.

Please, Racing Association – take action and stand up for us small owners.


Heinz Kruger – Radetzky Racing CC

Think you must change the surname from Kruger to Radetzky or Rabinowitch

You could be right Andre... let's rather not start another "conspiracy theory" although most have come true lately...

Radetsky i have also complained about our horse meetings being cancelled instead of rescheduleing them,and i see that
this saga has had no response from our previous complaints,i believe better things are happening watch this space.

Well said RADETZKY............ it's time someone had a go at the R.A................ this is precisely why I am no longer a member of the R.A.

THE BIG QUESTION - WHAT DOES THE R.A. DO FOR YOU ( the owner ) ?

I said on this site about 3 days ago...... we need at least ONCE A WEEK a maiden card. That means 9 races x say 12 horses = 108 runners - from these 108 runners, we will only get 9 OUT OF THE MAIDENS............ how do we get out of this situation ? ( BUY LESS HORSES AT THE SALES ? SUMMERHILL WON'T BE TO HAPPY WITH THIS )

As youv'e said RADE, most maiden noms are anthing from 30 - 70 horses entered. I too have been in the ELIMINATED process for a maiden plate...... but I was lucky to get in for this coming SAT - WEATHER PERMITTING of course !

I agree that we need more maiden races programmed, but imo there needs to be a balance; if we have one maiden card a week, this is going to lead to many more mediocre horses needing to contest low quality handicaps (like today's card); sadly I think 'we' have bred too many horses in recent years leading to too many horses in training and unfortunately for those of us sitting with 'soupmeat', something has got to give - not an easy solution, but short of providing more races (on the already overloaded tracks) I don't see another (practical) way to go.

And I would gladly rejoin the RA if they can figure out (and execute) a plan for this sad state of affairs, but I guess they have more 'important' things to take care of right now - boosting that all to come bet in order to keep stakes at current levels and organizing all those freebies for the visiting international jocks (don't get me wrong I also think it's great that they are coming again - but maybe addressing the concerns of your current members are more important right now?)

The bigger picture :-
RA has shares in Phumelela to the value of?
RA is in bed with Phumelela ?
RA sees the small owners as a nuisance.
The last job they advertised for R500k pa -

One of the interview questions were : -
How will you deal with disgruntled owners !
The correct answer was - DECISIVE!

Phumelela puts up the stake monies for races, even if I sponsor a race.
I pay a nominal fee to get my name attached to the race.
Guess its time that the clan start sponsoring races, will cost little, but you can nominate ypur horses to run in this sponsored race.

Start playing the game, start by sponsoring races. Club together. Then they will surrender. Learn from the unions.

Congrats Mr Kruger

strange the trainers don't more openly high light this problem as at the end of the day the less owners the less money they make.

Most trainers keep away!

In the past they had SARS inspections, Drug inspections etc when they got to clever!
Most had to write huge cheques to SARS.

Hence the trainer route/ base has been covered!

Frodo...

I agree with your comment about maidens...

My point is this - either they block breeders from breeding too much or have selected sales and only putting the best bred or so called "fashionable sires" progeny on these sales.

Furthermore i'm not worried about stakes in so far as the purse namely that stakes for a maiden in PE is R50 000 and Flamingo R45 000 [i think]. I'm happy with that. The operators should divide racing like rugby into leagues. Top horses should run for the big purses and weaker horses for lower purses. Example: If my first timer, as the elimination process works, not place in first start or the two mandatory runs thereafter he is not eligible for the R80 000 maidens and i will happily race for R50 000 or a little less but then operators should create at least 2 or 3 such meetings a month at the Vaal. That's why we had Bloemfontein - exactly for this and believe me Bloem would have thrived at the current rate of horses in training.

PE has shown and proved that racedays with 14 horses plus makes for excellant turnovers and the stakes are low! I will happily race for that up here and we'll have bigger cards and better turn over. If we work on some kind of league system horses can be divided in weak or strong maidens and remember some maidens need racing to come to grips...Through such a system and the merit system horses can be better divided.

I am forced to take my whole string of raced maidens to Kimberley [6 runners] on the 25th and with the Kimberley trainers getting preference there are no guarantees of getting in either.

Good example is Clinton Binda's Sobrusky - couldn't get into races on the Highveld and he took him to Flamingo - ever since he has won again and placed up here and merit wise is able to get into races...point is that he might have still battled to get in maidens up here didn't he take the Flamingo route...

Point is either put the brakes on the breeding industry or have more maiden races dividing it into lower rated maidens for much lower stakes [saving the operator money but still gain good turnovers from punters] handicaps etc, and normal maidens and higher division for above average maidens. This is doable.

Fark...there are brilliant think tanks in racing to work out a plan - we just need these think tanks like Magic, Karel etc in the right places to give their input..

Why don't they write a computer program, much like a school class roster.
Automatically nominate all horses for the next races on the program, immediately after a horse has run.
Automatically nominate the horse in similar Merit Rating/ maiden race.

If the horse has won, then the horse will be automatically nominated for the next division.

Owners/ trainers can then via a web interface accept/ confirm/ (or add the horse to another race), the nominations.
If not accepted/ confirmed the horse will be removed from the race and automatically nominated for the next races.


This way we can add more races/split a race, should many horses accept/ confirm.
Al least it would be transparent and each owner trainer will be accommodated.

Sure we might split many races into 2 or 3 races and have 9/10 or 11 races on some days?

Andre...thats our biggest problem...they don't want to make 2 or 3 races...that's what we fighting for...

For all...underneath reply from RA...so long...






Dear Mr Kruger,

I’ve just received your mail from the NHRA. I have forwarded it to Patrick Davis, Phumelela’s Racing Executive for his comment.

Once Larry returns from his business trip on Monday, I will forward this to him too.

Kind regards,

Penny Broodryk
Member Relation's Officer
The Racing Association
Tel (011) 683-3220
Fax (086) 510-0353
Cell 083 443 7277