Where were all the samaritans when Bloem was closed down?
Zietsman I fail to see why ten reasons are necessary but let me try justify my tagging of that big hole as a worthy of junk status. My comments in no order of relevance/importance:
1. The results. Nowhere do you see reversals of form like you do at the groot gat. Nowhere do you see these reversals of form supported by betting support far more often than the formbook dictates, often in an insultingly short period of bad/good/bad run cycles. Horses in the bad run cycle drift off the board as if the result is known - which it clearly is on occasion.
2. The cripples - watch some of those poor horses go down on any Monday. The worst in the country by the distance
3. The positives - pound for pound the undisputed doping capital of South Africa when looking at numbers of trainers vs confirmed positives - could explain number 1.
4. The neglect cases - Shameful and ongoing. To rub salt in the wounds, a guilty former champion trainer gets the job as track manager as reward. I am told by those who have raced there that champion trainers are prepared to do deals on horses - no pay split stakes. Explains points 1 -4
5. The class of horse - nothing worse in the country, the ultimate last chance saloon.
6. The surface - an eyesore. From all accounts a shadow of its former glory in Millers days now has duststorms when horses run and 1 mm of rain causes an abandonment. I have no doubt it is no better than the Vaal sand and should be shut. The bleeding hearts can make space at the vaal and half stakes races held on grass on Mondays
7. The tote turnover - Poor. Monday meetings from Fairview are always better supported with far bigger pools. There is no clearer indicator that punters are uninterested and/or distrustful of the form there
8. The lack of regulation - the centre is so surplus to requirements that the Jockey club dont even have a permanent stipe stationed there. The costs cannot be justified apparently. This helps explain points 1 -4
9. The lack of a Horse care unit - the centre with the slowest horses and most chuck outs from other centres ( many due to soundness ) does not have one.
10. The logistics - running the show from Joburg in terms of Jockeys and raceday officials staff makes no sense. 5 hours in a bus what do we need this crap for.
11. I dont like the dump and more importantly in waiting for your response, unlike you I HAVE NO ULTERIOR MOTIVE IN WANTING THE PLACE TO CLOSE.
Last edit: 8 years 7 months ago by Over the Air.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Sweet Coetzee, Tomtomq
Okay so I was forced out of bed by a mate of mine telling there is a power thread about flamingo park....
We used to be major contributors in Flamingo but I must say those people operate in a way that beggars belief.
So here is a true story:
Our trainer in Kimberley got the complete and utter needle with us and stopped taking our calls and talking to us.....the reason is as follows......
about 7 years ago a Kimberley trainer raided JHB with a 1st timer and won a listed race
then the horse got moved to a KZN trainer
My partner in Lebeonana decided then to call said trainer out of the blue and pass on his well wishes and moral support in losing the horse....
The Kimberley trainer thanked him and over the next 6 years they have communicated 23 times.
their communication stems from the fact that the Kimberley trainer has an owner with a similar name to my partner and sends him messages to which my partner keeps calling him and telling him wrong person and they laugh BUT never have they met
When our syndicate was terminated it was decided that my partner would go to Kimberley and watch lebeoana and Samoan run
while in Kimberley he decided after 6 years to introduce himself to the trainer and they had a laugh
our trainer saw them talking and thought we were moving our horses......he got the needle and blanked us until we did move them......
Why am I telling you this because I have been a patron and supporter of Kimberly for ages but you cannot deal there with any logic or training you have had anywhere else in racing or in the world. Maybe its the sunshine or the lack of sea but something is weird up there.
I have no doubt we will race there again but I suppose we got calluses now and nothing that happens up there will surprise us.......
Then add in the raiders (not allowed) but some raiders are allowed.
One thing I really miss from SA is my 6 litre brothers
1 litre coke
2 litre Klippies
and the ford cortina......
One thing I would change about Kimberley though.....well a few things
1: R10 fine per kilometre that a horse is based away from Kimberley
2: Build more stables
3: Force / Entice more local trainers
4: race there 3 times a week with a local jockey colony derived from National failures
5: full time stipe ( tea total though)
6: invest in the track
i would rather do the kindest thing and put my horse down than sell it or send it to race in kimberly considering how much crap comes out of that centre especially with so few trainers ..ota has mentioned a few cases and what about the rest like the state of the horses sold onto for bush racing from the human yard now i read on s.post mr lensley getting a fine for 40k it just never stops...What must the rest of the world watching this shit think when they watch horses going down to the start like cripples plus the amount of horses geting scratched at the start for being lame ..IT IS NO ADVERT FOR SOUTH AFRICAN RACING..close the shithole and reopen bloem which was the greatest mistake ever made in phumelelas history..the pools are shit which means the punters are voting wiith their pockets ..IT HAS NO FUTURE
bloem is very central so horses from jhb dbn and even pe used to raid there plus the surface was grass so no problems to adapt to it like the sand surface ..plus a lot easier for the officials jockeys etc for them to travel to bloem..it was the best centre to punt at and mondays and or thursdays were eagerly awaited...it gave the battling horse trainer owner and jock an oppurtunity to earn without having to take on the big yards...it is sorely missed and how kimberly got the go ahead instead of it is still a mystery and today kimberly is a major headache to the operator
Bob Brogan wrote: Pirates did you see the images HHCU shared over the weekend ? They must have been sold to Soweto before the new rules were past? Came from a KZN yard
didnt see them and i didnt say that shit happens only in kimberly but considering they have so few trainers they in the news far to often..i forgot about the trainer who trains off limits he also had his shit surface recently..OBVIOUSLY THIS GROOM STORY at greyville night racing is shocking but what has happened and still happens to horses is far far worse and the punishment doesnt fit the crime..to many of them are seen as slabs of meat and to many of them are long suffering
Nothing really to do with the topic, but here it goes: I work in Gosforthpark Business Park and go to gym at Newmarket mall and live a stone throw away from Turffontein....................
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