Kenilworth trainers not stepping up to the plate!!

KENILWORTH RACING: PRESS RELEASE

Subject: DURBANVILLE RACE MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF SUPPORT

Date: 26 FEBRUARY 2016

Kenilworth Racing have been left with no option but to cancel Tuesday’s Durbanville racemeeting due to a lack of support and it will instead be replaced by a meeting at Fairview. This followed after approximately 160 horses were nominated to run at the Durbanville meeting yet only 54 of them were declared at time of scratchings. At short notice PE trainers were given the opportunity to take up the day and declared 95 runners. Kenilworth Racing have for a long time been concerned about the lack of runners in the Western Cape. Consequently, measures were put in place in an attempt to encourage increased field sizes. Many Cape Town trainers have complied with the request and a ranking was circulated to all trainers yesterday. However a number of trainers have not stepped up to the plate.

Resultingly during the month of February, in which seven Western Cape racemeetings were staged, only five races in total ultimately had 12 runners or more. The last resort for Kenilworth Racing is to reduce the number of race meetings. They have asked for input on programming and continue to welcome suggestions that could enhance field sizes, which make for more competitive racing and naturally increase turnovers. Patrons will be pleased to know that most recently a census was completed and the winter program to come (April - August) is based on the latest facts. Every effort is made to work closely with all stakeholders, but Kenilworth Racing is duty bound to take action against those who do not adhere to comply with the request asked of them, which is ultimately for the betterment of Cape racing.

Maybe just stop Cape Trainers from having satellite yards....... then they would race their horses in CPT or give them up, quite simple really. There are Cape trainers with up to 9 runners a meeting in other centers and yet very few at home.....

You then get visiting trainers that battle to get boxes in CPT.....WTF, if the boxes are full then why are there no runners???

The informations is freely available;
Snaith yard, 9 runners at Fairview 4 runners at Durbanville
Kannemeyer yard, 3 runners at Greyville 2 runners at Durbanville

firstly and foremost every trainer out there is a private business funded by themselves and their owners so the trainers who by the way have licenses to compete on racetracks throughout south Africa HAVE TO PLACE THEIR HORSES WHERE THEY CAN to ATTAIN THE BEST POSSSIBLE RESULTS FOR THEIR OWN BUSINESS AND THEIR CLIENTS..this applies to all other industries that have a head office based somewhere in sa but open branches etc throughout the land to get the possible returns for their business..why should racehorse trainers be any different? the only reason Phumelela is holding a gun to trainers heads is because smaller fields are bad for turnover so tell me is it the trainers fault that this is?. so they must put phumelelas problem before the welfare of their own business and clients...maybe a simpler solution is to close racing down after the prawn day for a month and also in august and give those local meetings to the other provinces...

If trainers were private businesses funded by themselves then they would only race the horses they own. They are primarily funded by owners who pay for and supply the horses & punters who supply the stakes and maybe this is where the thinking needs to change. Trainers are more like managing agents and currently racing in CPT is being mismanaged by these agents. The WC trainers head office at this stage are the PUNTERS and they are not delivering......

If we had to for a moment imagine that every trainer in SA did not sell/send their horses on to PE/Kimberly and that they all had satellite yards what would the trainers in PE have to say?

I do agree that it is every trainers prerogative to choose but it is not a Phumelela thing, nobody is interested in betting on 6 horse fields. By the same token these trainers have horses running in the same MR races in other provinces that their own center is offering...

WC racing has been in trouble for years especially when you consider that as a region their punters could not support their own stakes pot. Now the rest of the country is expected to punt on 6 horse races in their region while the said trainers run more horses in other regions than at home.

I tend to agree with you though i would close racing in the WC after the prawn day but that's not the only change, i would restrict the WC to two race meetings a month with a minimum of 14 horse fields.

Probably doesnt make financial sense to allow R1m+ horses to run and spoil the myth that they can actually RUN

There is no right answer to the problem as the obligation to "do the right thing"
for the horse, owner, staff, trainer , punter , racing authority etc. Has no definitive algorithm that can be applied.

I do feel that the Cape trainers with big owners do get away with being able to have horses earning "training" fees and nothing else to make a decent living.
I do get annoyed when you see the comments "will need the run" or "needed the last run" all the time because while valid, Why the f...k didn't you give it a run the last 4 times you had it nominated?
Bad draws., going etc are of course a reason, especially if the horse has options, but if its going to need the run, its always going to need the run until you actually let it run. And you clearly had opportunities with all these 7-8 runner fields.

I do think there needs to be a carrot and a stick approach to helping things improve as removing meetings etc. will just serve to add more stress to the smaller trainers who are more likely to be entering horses at a better rate than the larger ones.

Tigershark wrote: The informations is freely available;
Snaith yard, 9 runners at Fairview 4 runners at Durbanville
Kannemeyer yard, 3 runners at Greyville 2 runners at Durbanville

these are two of the most successful trainers in south Africa and I wonder why?old saying keep yourself in the best of company and your horses in the worst company

the operators inability to grow local turnover is being masked over by this issue as well ..lets face it they cant look after their customers and many have gone over to their competitors the bookmakers ..they haven't come on board as regards sectional timing ,total transparency and filtering of information from trainers to all punters and also zero barrier trials..plenty talk zero delivery ..the only thing propping up the industry is the sale of our product to overseas and we receiving a percentage of turnover from it..last year this was 200 million and this year projected to be 260 million and of course the weak rand helps us..its time the operators looked inwards and stopped the blame game ,get your own house in order first .

Is snaith jhb and pe , kannemeyr natal , kotzen natal and nel natal yards on private property or gold circle/phumalela property?
If it is on phum/gc property then send them back home and get their house in order first.

That boxes will be filled in notime by others not from ctn on waiting list.


kannemeyr had more runners , winners and stakes earned in natal this season than cpt.

Pirates, i do agree with the glaring shortcomings that you mention and I am not having a go at particular trainers who are after all successful however if the trainers are doing the programs for the horses who should we look at?

Why don't these trainers then move and have CPT as their satellite yard? Why are the smaller trainers closing their doors while monopolies are being supported in CPT who do not race horses there anyway?

Either way, i am suggesting that CPT is not worth more than a maximum of 3 meetings a month going forward and then we see what happens to the owners.......

PS. there are many "most" successful trainers in SA.......

Well put Hilton, you understand the principles of SA racing.The operators need to listen to their clients.