Tellytrack and horseracing

The letter highlights some of the main problems in horseracing. I agree with the tote tellers. in some outlets you do get good service but the majority are rude and could care less about service. The on course facilities are mediocre. It seems only the owners, trainers have access to the good facilities. Nobody really cares. TT is a joke. Paul Lafferty was commenting on how Wesley picked the 1st race winner when it was paying R9.20 on the tote and how it shorted to R5.40.....Any fool would know not to trust tote payouts before the race..how can presenters even comment on perceived value on the tote before a race...it drives me nuts when they do that. The lack of betting on TT should in itself close down the channel.

To The thoroughpedia team;
That sounds positive , however it would seem that there are some very simple "rapid action" fixes that could easily be implemented in days or weeks rather than months or years.
It is also common with committees that everybody always believe they are the "right" people ,and so let's hope in this case,they are!!

A concern ,of course, has to be that a number of the unfortunate issues that presently exist (bookmakers dispute, Tellytrack debacle, etc) developed since October so perhaps you could comment on the role the "round table of talkers" played or if they even participated in any form!

Rob, you know the challenges. You know our team, and our leaders and their ethos. Some of it (committee decisions) is political, some of it logistical. We are going to try our best for as long as we can to influence and assist, we only have a quarter voice. I so wish it was down to a dictator who could enforce the right changes for the right reasons overnight. But it isn't. It needs an entire industry to pull together with everything it has, every stake holder. Every last one that is involved in racing needs to buy into a collective solution. It is going to come in bits and pieces, some good, some weaker, some sooner, some later.

The next 2 years is going to be crucial in seeing if anything is salvageable - do or die. But worth the try.

Don it all sounds great but all we see and experience is two steps forward and six back. I've said it before, I'll give the whole industry a fair period of time to sort itself out, but time is running out and I'm becoming daily more dis-illusioned with people being paid to do a job that are'nt delivering. I'm one of the fortunate ones and I'm tired of all this crap.
These paid representatives seem to be doing the industry more harm than good and thats what we are experiencing daily with no light at the end of the tunnel.
I am in no way saying there are'nt great,passionate and dedicated people employed in our industry but what clout do they have? I feel sorry for them, they know who they are, please dont stop doing what you good at or we will truely be in the poo. How long will they stick it out?
Lack of communication is for me the biggest issue. Why the BIG secret Don ? Christmas is 7 months away ! We arent kids, we have vested interests in this industry, but we are being treated as such.
When trainers,owners,punters,jockeys etc are all moaning surely the powers that be should sit UP and TAKE notice and ACT !

Don , I am in favour of anything that will help this "sport" I love , so I am rooting for any activities that raise the bar.
I, however spent many years in Corporate life before I escaped , and I some of those times were great, and with some great people, but there were also some experiences with the worst examples of corporatisation and it's worst people!
"P" remind me of the worst examples and I have become so cynical that I question the honesty of their vision and mission,particularly with regard to the local product.
If the intent is not there, the preferred result is impossible.......again , I hope I"m wrong!

at least the parties are united - in moaning (for good reason!) Let's hope some of this directive sorts out some of the moans for good and sees real progress in picking up racing from the floor.

don who is part of the thoroughpedia team? who do you represent ?

Rob, let's not mince bones about intention. The bottom line is turnover. For any business. Racing seeks to gain market share, and attract sponsors. Phumelela and Gold Circle seek to gain punters and sponsors. RA seek to gain owners. Breeders seek to gain buyers. Trainers, jocks, related patronage. Thoroughpedia seeks to record the history so it can be used to build and ingrain a following, to feed the fans that follow racing. That bet, buy and enjoy. Whose money make up the stakes. That lures the owners. etc etc the house that Jack built.

I agree with Jacobs that TT could show Bettingworld's prices (or even better Hollywood ).

I dont agree about the MR system. IMO using a line horse seems to be the most logical irrespective how arithmetical it is. However, I do disagree with all the constraints we have in our hybrid MR system.

As for the rest - it's all been flogged before.

I was told that all all TAB staff are employed for there friendly personalities. i am shocked to hear the service is not good.

i am sure they will improve.

Don Wrote:

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> Rob, let's not mince bones about intention. The
> bottom line is turnover. For any business. Racing
> seeks to gain market share, and attract sponsors.
> Phumelela and Gold Circle seek to gain punters and
> sponsors. RA seek to gain owners. Breeders seek to
> gain buyers. Trainers, jocks, related patronage.
> Thoroughpedia seeks to record the history so it
> can be used to build and ingrain a following, to
> feed the fans that follow racing. That bet, buy
> and enjoy. Whose money make up the stakes. That
> lures the owners. etc etc the house that Jack
> built.

This is my greatest concern for the local industry...............Corporates do not carry loss leaders indefinitely ,so once the worthwhile assets have been stripped and it is worthless, will they look to dispose of the local product?

As South Africans we are normally guilty of accepting bad service and moaning to friends and family about it afterwards. We should tackle the problem head on by taking the guilty party to task there and then even if it means some unpleasantness and extra effort required.

We should just ensure that we do not contribute to bad service by the attitude that we display to those in the service industry. There will always be exceptions but I have found that i normally get what I give although it really should be the other way around when receiving service. People are human and reaction triggers counter reaction and this if left untreated over time will breed bad habits.

The way that things are changing globally will see over the counter and phone services being phased out in favour of online facilities and self help kiosks. Lets try and delay this as our country can do with labour intensive industries given our shocking job creation stats.

Next time you have bad service, speak out, as it might save a few much needed jobs further down the line. One or two might not make a difference but if we all get stuck in we will change this attitude.