what is racing's allure?

so gents, what you are saying, the bug must bite in childhood?

My mum and dad never had a punt but my granny used to get me to put her bets on when I was about 15?
Normally dog racing and I started punting at 16, then I owned dogs then horses
Would have been a lot richer if I never had the bug :

Don - yes, I think so. At the very least some sort of exposure, however limited, would help.

As adults we do tend to have little or no idea what makes an impression on a child.

In my case horses made an immediate impression which lasted for a long time. I fear it's gone now and I see too much of the ugliness, jealousy, pettiness and abuse lurking just below the greasepaint.

I am also a l-i-t-t-l-e more conscious of the enormous financial damage it has wreaked on many families since forever.

You get the same stories in sport, personal stuff that makes the athlete interesting or inspirational

Some recent greats with stories

G player
M oher
C Kaepernick
P manning
U Bolt
B Lara
A palmer
T woods
S Ballesteros
B Ruth
M Ali


More to follow gonna bath the lightie

With the manipulations taking place and lack of TRANSPARENCY there is no more ALLURE in Horse Racing, it is now the same as any other game of chance to the majority.

RIP Horse Racing in RSA, although not yet dead but progessively dying.

Mac Wrote:

---

> I still have Totopoly.
>
> What about that toy game with a vibrating
> racecourse on which plastic horses used to inch
> forwards?


Im sure it was called ESCALADO . ?

having said that, and apart from low coverage in the daily press, do you think racing is visible enough? If you drive past any racecourse in the country, can you guess what is happening inside or is it clearly communicated? I know Kenilworth isn't...and neither is Durbanville course, very much a secret society. Same for the training stables and worse for the horse float truck. That truck could be an excellent advert...travelling on the highway....

Betting aside, is horse racing financially damaging to be involved in? In terms of ownership (or syndicate ownership) surely one goes into it comparing other entertainment you could be spending your money on - i.e. watersports, mountainbiking, travelling, womanising, whatever? The value of entertainment of owning a racehorse is surely worth it?

Fogwills, suppose the transparency levels are achieved. And the gambling risk is communicated and understood. You now have a trustable product. What is it about racing that would keep you coming back?

No mischief intended but I sometimes wonder if horse racing isn't a little like citizen band radio?

Relevance to only a very few and supplanted by newer developments.

Just wondering.

Don Wrote:

---

> having said that, and apart from low coverage in
> the daily press, do you think racing is visible
> enough? If you drive past any racecourse in the
> country, can you guess what is happening inside or
> is it clearly communicated? I know Kenilworth
> isn't...and neither is Durbanville course, very
> much a secret society. Same for the training
> stables and worse for the horse float truck. That
> truck could be an excellent advert...travelling on
> the highway....
>
> Betting aside, is horse racing financially
> damaging to be involved in? In terms of ownership
> (or syndicate ownership) surely one goes into it
> comparing other entertainment you could be
> spending your money on - i.e. watersports,
> mountainbiking, travelling, womanising, whatever?
> The value of entertainment of owning a racehorse
> is surely worth it?
>
> Fogwills, suppose the transparency levels are
> achieved. And the gambling risk is communicated
> and understood. You now have a trustable product.
> What is it about racing that would keep you coming
> back?

Agree 100 % , there are people down here in the Cape who literally live on top of the race tracks and have no idea ??

Don I will actually never leave the Sport I love although have drastically curtailed my investment to a hobby level. In fact much less than any other Sport/Recreation would cost me and now with Technology I can do it at home where at least the Wife sees and knows what I am up to.

The allure for me is the Form study that even if it only occasionally works out the satisfaction that One had got it right is tremendous, a form of achievement. Then not discounting the reward of winning a few Rand as well.

keniza999 Wrote:

---

> Racing is not a sport, it cannot be enjoyed
> without financial interest therefore attracting
> pure fans is an unrealistic goal. however it is
> possible to attract players/punters/gamblers to
> the game but then why would you wanna attract
> someone to an activity where they might ruin their
> lives??? if you can teach them 'how to win' then
> by all means otherwise what's the point.

That might be your opinion, but I have loved racing since I was seven years old, and I very seldom have a bet. Maybe a few bob on a big race, now and then. But I love working out what I think will win, and I really enjoy playing with all the variables at my disposal. I reckon I am fairly passionate about racing, in most of its forms, though I still haven't got to grips with the chariot stuff, simply because I don't know about the breeding and the little niceties which might make it interesting. Ask Matthew Lips what his take on your comment is. He doesn't punt, and yet he's even more involved than I am.

School days I was a teller at a tote on wkends and holidays, hooked
Ever since , I punt a horse on the nose maybe 4 times a month,
3 always lose lol , but I watch replays everyday except kim and pe