The Problem with SA Racing

Mark

this clears nothing up it only confuses me futher

Penny had nothing to do with anything, it was Clyde that took the ad with Formgrids while he was at the RA, the ad ran for several months then Clyde moved to Phumelela, ask him if you want and he WILL confirm it, i never needed to discuss anything with Larry,, after Clyde left Larry saw me at Bedford Center one day and said the RA could no longer afford the ad,,, please remember Larry met me prior to this and said he was instructed by the RA board to make me an offer to buy Formgrids which i refused, so this shows the RA board saw the worth of Formgrids to the industry, why then cancel the peanuts 2500 pm ad

Asked and answered as I said I would.

As you keep bringing this issue up and aren't getting a satisfactory answer on ABC I suggest you contact Larry directly.

If you want his contact details I can forward them to you.

Thanks Mark, no problem, maybe its not the place for this,, just 10 long years of my input with no support from the many that pose as racing men has made me somewhat sour, just saw you post and took up your offer

Don, I enjoyed your thread and it makes a lot of sense.

As far as ownership go's our black brothers may just be financially far more astute than we are as it certainly doesn't make much financial sense to own the majority of our racing stock.

Racing for money is mostly a dead loss and if it wasn't for the prestige of owning a champion and a few affluent people who love the sport we would not have the privelege of seeing some wonderful thoroughbreds racing on our tracks.

Bread and butter racing is very important but requires an economical return to keep animals in training, which is not the case in most instances. So standing inside the parade ring might be aspirational but isn't all that it is made out to be and makes no sense unless you have money to burn.

Racing needs funding to be improved which requires real and sustainable gains in customer numbers and should be pursued vigorously, but is not because alternative wagering options exist that are easier to profit from. This is why I advocate that a belief in racing has to be restored before we can move forward. Once prize money can be adjusted faster or at least in line with inflation annually it will become a proposition for the ordinary person to consider ownership again as better than average animals will be able to earn their keep.

The prestige of owning a top race horse will remain the domain of the super rich and the occassional lucky owner unless their is a profitable financial insentive to own a horse.

Mark one last thing, last time i was in Larrys office he told me if i was there representing Formgrids he would show me the door, just find out for me if things are the same or is it different now

LSU Wrote:

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You say
> As far as ownership go's our black brothers may
> just be financially far more astute than we are as
> it certainly doesn't make much financial sense to
> own the majority of our racing stock.

But....
> Racing for money is mostly a dead loss and if it
> wasn't for the prestige of owning a champion and a
> few affluent people who love the sport we would
> not have the privelege of seeing some wonderful
> thoroughbreds racing on our tracks.
>
and then...
> Racing needs funding to be improved which requires
> real and sustainable gains in customer numbers..

It's a good post and I'm not trying to be argumentative. When you say "sustainable gains in customer", who or what do you mean exactly?

Hi JD
Turnover has been static for a long time although there has been a small improvement over the last few months. The reason is that all growth and turnover contributions come from a small hardcore group of regulars of which most of us are part of.
Racing needs to reach out to new players on a broader level than it has for the last few decades which has always been wagering, full stop.
There is a large group of potential customers in our country and the rest of the world that will find racing very appealling if the wagering offering was more entertaining than what is currently on offer.
I see casual and leisure players as a sustainable potential source of growth which over time will produce a growing number of committed long term players.
This group could be very successfully targeted with products that has a greater social and entertainment angle than the current range of products.
The industry has not pursued this at all as product development has focussed on churn and the existing customer only rather than reaching out to the non-racing public.
I referred to sustainable growth based on how much larger the social market is than the pure wagering market which racing relies on at present.
In many ways growth becomes self sustaining when pools reach mega proportions driven by social popularity combined with potential dream pay outs

LSU

Internet use mainly because of smart phones is booming , do you think the industry is doing enough to grab a slice ?

Jack Dash Wrote:

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> LSU Wrote:
>

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>

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> You say
> > As far as ownership go's our black brothers may
> But....
> > Racing for money is mostly a dead loss and
> >
> and then...
> > Racing needs funding to be improved which
>
> When you say "sustainable gains in
> customer", who or what do you mean exactly?

Your post referring to "our black brothers" is all about ownership. Whe I asked you what you meant, your reply was all about punters. Earlier I had posted that the problem with any discussion on the thread topic, is that people often hop from owners to punters as if they are the same thing, when really one is mineral and the other a vegetable. Any "problem" racing might have is coloured by the business of racing that sees owners of horses as their main customer, a view often franked but the action of proffessional trainers as they tend their own businesses, while the real customer, like me, thinks that us punters are the real customer and we remain invisible and taken for granted.

So when we talk "problem" and I hear "owner" it's time to switch on soccer, which (by the way) the customer sees the best come in from around the world to be viewed anywhere you like, betting smoothly online, no tax, in high definition, on time, all this...sans blackmail.

Hi JD

I apologise for confusing the issue.

Ownership and punting goes hand in hand though as the one group provides the stars of the show and the other group provides the funding of the show. Us punters will mostly continue punting even if the quality of the product deteriorates which is a sad reality.
It is because we are not involved in racing for the spectator value but rather the wagering which does not mean thar we cannot appreciate quality racing, but it is not essential for our involvement.
All owners should be treated like royalty regardless of the number or qualty of horses that they have in training as without them, there is no product and no show.
This is why the betting operator puts the biggest effort into the owners, which definitely sucks as a punter, but is somewhat understandable.
You mentioned sport which l love as well, but its no different really. You buy a seat, they provide the show, and nothing more. What is the quality of the food at a soccer or rugby match, the squeezed seating, the long queues everywhere, limited parking and dirty toilets any different to what we receive as racing fans. Ask any serious sportsfan that had to give up his season ticket privilage for a big game that the union did not include how that felt as a loyal long term supporter.

The truth is JD that loyalty is no longer rewarded anywhere in life which is why most of us prefer to watch the show from the comfort of home.

I feel with you on this one.

Good thread, mostly mature debate.... But why did you feel it neccessary to black Anonymous User Hibs?

The Madji Wrote:

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> Good thread, mostly mature debate.... But why did
> you feel it neccessary to black Anonymous User
> Hibs?


Because I'm in the inner circle

How's the shoulder?