Transparency - easy to see through / clearness
Horseracing in South Africa - murky / very difficult to see through
While Paul Lafferty is correct in his opinion and i for one hope he achieves his goal the way in which this new idea was approached was wrong and there are some points that need further discussion regarding Transparency and the industry as a whole. The reason for this is that the information on first timers is not the key to transparency but one little piece in the puzzle. By the way Paul there are NO BOOKMAKERS in Hong Kong and jockeys lifestyles, finances & phones are monitored.
As an example, we had a first timer run recently and the horse had an each way chance, certainly not a good thing but has ability. The horse was shortened from 33/1 to 7/1 a day before the race without a cent from the owners. Even though i am not huge punter this kind of skulduggery really irritates me and i would certainly like transparency in finding out who punted the horse.
Gamblers at a Casino must either sign/give details for a card in order to play slot machines or alternatively give their details at the tables or when cashing in if the amount is over 10k. Why is this not so with horseracing or more importantly Bookmakers???
The information on a first timer is in my opinion the least of a punters problems or more importantly priority. If we want transparency then here are few points that need to be raised;
1. Barrier trials for first timers and horses rested more than 60 days mandatory
2. Transparent betting i.e. Bookmakers betting books should be live
3. Any bet with a Bookmaker which stands to win R5k or more should be flagged
4. All punters should have a betting account including with Bookmakers and all bets traceable, the same as FICA
5. All jockeys, trainers and Bookmakers must agree to a lifestyle audit every 2 years in order to hold a license
6. All trainers & jockeys to give a comment for every runner before a race meeting.
7. No Director, Manager, Trainer, Bookmaker, Jockey, Owner, Vet, Board member who belongs to one organisation allowed to perform any other role in racing that could be directly/indirectly considered a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
8. Believe me the owner is most often the last in queue to get a bet on their horse so the above would be welcomed along with better prize money.
The problem with the above is that most people do not have the appetite for real TRANSPARENCY. Everyone knows punters that get info from a jockey, work rider, groom or assistant trainer and wants to get a bet on while not sharing the info but definitely feels done in when they don't get info on a first timer in the spirit of transparency......what a joke. Go and sit in any bookies room or Tab outlet if you want to see people whisper in hush tones. Listen close enough and you will hear the names of jockeys that have said this one is "graft", not that i have ever paid much attention to that but if we all want transparency then why the cloak & dagger behaviour?
The simple point i make is that you do not fix an axe wound with a band aid and yet neither the CEO of Phumalela or GC have yet to utter a word. No plan for change, no plan for anything new to encourage Owners & Punters...... just one trainer in KZN that has said, "let's at least get comments for first timers".
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