De Kock Ponders Future In South Africa

easy wrote: This story rightly so has made the front page of racing post.com and im sure in hard print as well.

the international racing club currently has 23 UK based owners and i have already taken 7 calls tonight regarding the future of racing in SA and what our position on the matter is.

This is what the powers don't realise , SA racing is international thanks largely to Mike De Kock and in a very minute way to me. The reality is that even though my owners love SA they don't really want to be involved if this is the situation.

I cannot see SA racing lasting much longer if this situation does not get resolved very quickly.

www.racingpost.com/news/international/tr...lent-protests/336695

.....there is no escaping that the ramifications of these actions will surely do the industry further damage.....good on Mike for speaking out.....because the fat cats may just start to listen....instead of brushing under the carpet or putting head in sand.....they must now pull finger and start to lend a hand.....and do some work for for those rather hansom corporate rewards.... :dry:

Why must it always get to break point before something is done - sensible structure could have been set out last year, the year before, 5 years ago, longer even. Now is the time for the industry to unite, and act together for collective best, do it NOW. Make those changes. Weak leadership, bad planning = putting out fires.

Its sad it has got to this, the emotional pressure all involved in racing are under is not really worth watching horses run at the back of the field, so unfortunately those have to go. Very sad days for the non - performing horses however it is what it is. Breeders are going to get hammered at sales in future, the model created for racing has not worked. Mike has done wonderful things for SA racing and I bet that every single racing country on the planet would LOVE to have Mike de Kock operating out of their country, of that there is no doubt!

Our guys just have no idea how lucky they are to have MdK Stables (Diane, Mike and Mathew) operating out of South Africa, and that is probably the saddest thing of all.

Have to agree with everything mentioned above - but I think Mr de Kock is optimistic in his statement abt a 10-20% reduction in horses in training - as even more small owners will just not be satisfied with the situation and pull out.

Yes, increased stakes is the first thing needed - but where does the money come from - for that to happen cost structures at the top needs to be looked at and pools need to increase - both unlikely to happen in the near future imo

Frodo wrote: Have to agree with everything mentioned above - but I think Mr de Kock is optimistic in his statement abt a 10-20% reduction in horses in training - as even more small owners will just not be satisfied with the situation and pull out.

Yes, increased stakes is the first thing needed - but where does the money come from - for that to happen cost structures at the top needs to be looked at and pools need to increase - both unlikely to happen in the near future imo

.....I can tell you where the money won't come from.....The Racing Trust....and as Adv. Maselle has pointed out in comments in SP....some ZAR2BAR PA is spent in additional stakes incentives for RA members paid by the Racing Trust.....this "Trust" is supposed to be there for the transformation and upliftment of sport of Horse Racing....to now want to take more towards increasing stakes is a no go.... :blink:

If I was you MDK.....I would pack up and piss off. My wife wants to pack up and go but I'm the one saying no right now. I might just get gatvol of her nagging soon and pack up as well. This place is not going to get better.....only worse. What a sad situation it is for this beautiful country

I do not know what tomorrow will bring and if it will bring reason rather than revolution.

For me, it is essential that we continue to adapt to the changes that occur in our Country, in terms of our stable's approach to Racing.
We have always preferred an empty stable to a stable being occupued by a horse with poor prospects. We are a small yard, 39 stables. This would need to grow to about 50 stables, for us to even think of surviving.

At the same time, costs will rise and we envisage our Owners not so much exiting Racing, as simply cutting back. So, the Owner with 5 horses or shares in 5 horses could now only have 3 horses. This will then make our growth from 39 to 50 all the more challenging.

Where quite a few Trainers have been charging minimum rates in order to stay in Racing, they will now come under severe pressure. One thing is for sure - when you cut any spend on the care and routines of a properly run yard, your overall results will reflect this.

As far as the grooms are concerned, it is sad that they had to turn to the likes of EFF to get attention to their plight. Whilst most of the "troublemakers" are the youngsters, the majority of grooms love what they do and their horses. But the truth of the matter is that whilst the vast majority of Trainers have been paying according to scale as set out by Govt, this bottom wage is just not enough. The tendency to pay the lowest allowed has become too frequent in terms of grooms wages.

Just go to your local Supermarket and buy a few of the basic things and see what that amounts to. Then see what change you have left from R750. How on earth can someone feed himself with that amount and then still send some money home for his children ? Or buy a pair of jeans ? Or a simple burger at Steers ?

Yes, these guys are mostly unemployable and from the bottom of the pile in terms of education and experience in a Country battling with unemployment. But that is not a reason for us to be immoral. We are a specialist industry and we have an obligation to treat our staff with the respect that they deserve. Sometimes, we just need a wake up call.

The biggest shock for us was the fact that the newly agreed upon minimum wage since the protests at Randjes and Turffontein were already in place at our yard and in most cases it is much lower than what we pay. This begs the question as to what some Trainers may have been paying...

It is going to be an interesting road ahead. Our biggest challenge will be to obtain the necessary growth at the same time that costs increase. We will have to work harder. Simple.

Louis as always quite correct stables that want to continue and be successful are going to have to take a view on whether growth with added costs is the way to go ....from what is going around groom salary's will be revised again shortly ...

i tried leaving SA but i am on the no fly list.
i have bought and inflatable dingy to row to Italy and apply for asylum still in the process of inflating it. my emphysema limits how much air goes into the Boat before i pass out.

will let u know if their is space for passengers

The only way to save racing, pay decent wages to grooms, keep trainers and breeders in business is to increase stakes properly so that it makes sense for owners to invest in racing.
Hopefully MDK or somebody of his stature could rally the true racing people to help save the sport