A Glimmer Of Light!

My good friend Sharon Holland invited me to Kenilworth for the Sunday meeting as she had a runner in the third which was regarded as a 'warm thing' to win.

I asked her if I could defer my decision until Sunday morning as I was knee deep in some heavy rugby action on Saturday and wanted an 'out' if it all went pear shaped and I was licking my wounds.

Happily for me the whole exercise connected and Sunday dawned a beautiful Spring day with nothing to do other than gloat about the previous days' results.

So off to Kenilworth I went; quite interested to see if all the recent huffing and puffing has borne any fruits. I promised myself to have a good, critical look as to what a novice racegoer might experience by actually visiting a racecourse.

Driving into the course the first thing I noticed was the unmanned kiosk guarding the entrance to the carpark. Probably no big issue as my recent understanding of racing is that nobody goes any longer so there is probably usually no incoming stampede to regulate and direct.

The carpark itself was actually half full. Good sign! And I was directed to a spot by a lonely but friendly attendant.

I meandered towards the grandstand where I was immediately taken in by the glorious day as well as signs of activity well in excess of the last occasion I was there.

The grandstand itself showed lots of signs of effort. Apart from obvious upgrades to fixtures it was really pleasing to see that quite a lot of energy has gone into recording the exploits of successful owners and past champions.

In the couple of interchanges I had whilst wandering around I was struck by the cordial nature of the staff. Where certain facilities have been relocated I was re-directed to them in a friendly and helpful manner.

The first person I encountered was well known ABC contributor DON. In case some posters don't know- Don is a very attractive and positively delightful lady who told me that she was tutoring a not insubstantial group of racegoers in the vagaries of racing and a day at the races. (As I am a great believer in education as a means of fostering interest I was delighted to learn that she plays a role of racing ambassador at the course). Go girl!

Although we had not pre-booked a table and the popular rooms were almost all full the staff managed to cheerfully create one for us. Well done to them.

The food we ordered was simple, tasty and inexpensive and we naturally all drank too much. The only weakness in the 'catering' was that there seemed to be a marked shortage of waiting staff so the actual ordering of the food and drinks was slow. Nevertheless we solved this by visiting the bar on a regular basis to fetch drinks. (The caterers were probably as taken aback as we were by the turnout).

Remarkably Clyde Basel did a tour through the room during the afternoon to meet and greet. I thought it was a very nice touch as he was at pains to enquire about our raceday experience. Much appreciated.

Sadly I found the actual business of racing a bit of a 'ho hum' experience. The effective disappearance of a bookmaking ring and the energy which used to surround it was a disappointment. I spoke to the bookmakers - most of whom I know from times past - and they all sang the same tune : No money.

I also find that the action has disconnected from its patrons. Although the seating on the stands appears poorly filled the actual function rooms and boxes were well attended. Clearly there is scope to convert almost all the public areas to facilities more attractive to the modern, device toting patron. Cold open seating is definitely OUT.

There were also a couple of corporate functions on the go. I sneaked into them to
eavesdrop but was disappointed to hear almost no chatter regarding the activity outside. Most of what I overheard from the youthful, stylishly dressed attendees (both male and female) was with regard to how much they had drunk and who they were planning to hit on next. I saw almost no evidence of racecards, Computaforms and tipping sheets and, judging by the absence of any queues, precious little betting activity. Perhaps they were all using Interbet on their 'devices'?

International Jockeys' Day used to be a real highlight during my early racing days. Despite the fanfare we had a pretty limp visiting crew at Kenilworth this time around whom the locals had little difficulty in riding to sleep. A far cry from my vivid memories of Willie Carson, Fernando Toro, Joe Mercer, Keiron Fallon et al., in past years. Pity - although I understand the difficulty of getting the current top boys.

I also feel that more effort needs to be made in making the team colours impossible to confuse. My suggestion would be simple, plain dayglo colours with differing caps so that inexperienced viewers could identify their fancies more easily.

Sponsorship is absolutely essential to the survival of racing. It was good to see the Egyptair representative take full advantage of his time on the podium and announce a 20% 'special' on flights. I thought it was an object lesson in extracting mileage from a sponsorship in a manner where those present might be tempted to use their services.

Sharon's horse duly won the third although without my wager as odds on shots have never appealed. I did, however, cringe somewhat when advised as to what the win had earned the owners. About 3,5 months keep by my calculation. Ouch. Assuming no vets bills to be dealt with on Monday.

Interestingly the feeling of isolation from the action via our location and the TV screens made me feel no closer to racing than when I watch from home. With the same result - no betting. Until the last race; when I felt almost obliged to make a contribution and amazed all the by now 'skint' people at my table by taking R5,000/1100 on Piere Strydom's mount and watching with pleasure as he romped in.

All in all a pleasant day with a vastly improved social experience when compared to recent, very occasional visits. Would I repeat? Perhaps but not too often.

Greyville on Friday Night also had quite a nice vibe and was surprised to see a fairly decent crowd.People seemed to be enjoying themselves and there was more than just the racing going on.....maybe thats one way of getting people to the track!

I even saw Graham Hawkins mingling with the general public, which is a good thing, I think.

Greyville has gone through some long over due revamping , all of which I think is quite positive.

One thing I dont like, is that the advertising boards on the turf track hinders a clear view of the finish on the poly(if you are standing down on the lawn that is)

thank you Garrick - glad to hear you had a positive experience . We are trying in small ways - and thanks to Oscar, the lovely Jenna + team at Kenilworth, NHRA staff etc holding hands with us we had another successful day in getting our group to understand a little bit about racing - what goes into it behind the scenes, a bit of handicapping+science, and if they'd like to try out a win or place bet (simples). There is one request without fail at every ambassador meeting - can they touch a horse, please. We realise that bond has to happen.

Great stuff guys

can racing ever compete again for the weekend leisure rand?

i don`t think so

TBH racing only got popular because there was so little to do,30 years ago in the UK only the rich owned cars,20 years ago only the rich owned mobile phones,10 years ago only the rich had home internet

Now we all have access to everything,we have so much more flashing lights and point of sale information that racing will never be able to compete

Just my opinion of course, i really think that the operators should try harder with existing customes as well as trying to attract the new cash.

Lets be honest they don`t want bums on seats they want money in the takeout pools

Cheers Garrick another classic

Superb Post Garrick,Thanks for sharing

Bob Brogan wrote: can racing ever compete again for the weekend leisure rand?

i don`t think so

TBH racing only got popular because there was so little to do,30 years ago in the UK only the rich owned cars,20 years ago only the rich owned mobile phones,10 years ago only the rich had home internet

Now we all have access to everything,we have so much more flashing lights and point of sale information that racing will never be able to compete

Just my opinion of course, i really think that the operators should try harder with existing customes as well as trying to attract the new cash.

Lets be honest they don`t want bums on seats they want money in the takeout pools

And none more so than the operators Bob - but there are various levels of getting in some dosh - I think there is an old thread on this forum where it was discussed at length:
1. fan (not visitor or someone who comes once a year; or could be manic fan)
2. day visitor
3. regular visitor and small time punter
4. regular punter
5. heavy punter
6. owner - syndicate or whole

Racing has the product that can compete with other entertainments for the leisure money, modern society wants a real experience - a real horse, or the option of seeing them from a distance.

In SAF racing it can be delivered, there has to be a couple of tweaks/panelbeats though on various levels, and the industry has to unite to attend to them (which is what is happening now - it is going to take a bit of time = Tuckman's phases).