RESUMPTION OF RACING – UPDATE

Where`s the Racing press? Why was no questions submitted? Did they even know this meeting was taking place? This is absolutely shocking! It`s as clear as Nile mud!

This is an embarrassing situation!!

Black Arthur wrote: Where`s the Racing press? Why was no questions submitted? Did they even know this meeting was taking place? This is absolutely shocking! It`s as clear as Nile mud!

Exactly. Where’s the recently launched SA Racing Media Association ?

Within 14 days of the directions being published, sport bodies and professional clubs would need to apply for permission to resume activities. Athletes and support staff looking to resume operations in non-contact sport would need to be willing to be subjected to 14 days of quarantine to then be declared Covid free before being allowed to resume. (Here I am confused as usual - so athletes must be covid free for14 days in quarantine but shoppers, church goers, children can just go about their day without this test - So who is more likely to spread the virus ? A group of school kids or a golfer playing a round ?)

Surely this will take time and a buy-in from Jocks etc - and how does this quarantine work? And then what purpose does it serve because if the sport takes place , lets use racing, then after completion do the athletes have to remain in quarantine or can they go home and mix with the general population until the next event -

citizen.co.za/sport/2293999/rugby-and-so...l-1-says-department/

Not sure of the bottom line, but as normal plenty confusion and could be devastating 😢

As per my daily song, lets hope

WE CAN WORK IT OUT.

As per News 24, all non contact professional sports (cricket, golf, tennis, swimming, athletics etc) have been given the go ahead to commence on Monday. Remember horse racing does not fall under the ministry of sport and would not therefore have been specifically mentioned by the Minister. Soccer and rugby teams have been given the go ahead to start training but matches/leagues will only commence at a later stage. Naturally everything happens behind closed doors.

the hawk wrote: As per News 24, all non contact professional sports (cricket, golf, tennis, swimming, athletics etc) have been given the go ahead to commence on Monday. Remember horse racing does not fall under the ministry of sport and would not therefore have been specifically mentioned by the Minister. Soccer and rugby teams have been given the go ahead to start training but matches/leagues will only commence at a later stage. Naturally everything happens behind closed doors.

Thanks Graeme. Part of the confusion is that the feedback from Level5 was that racing fell under DAF, after Level 3 draft regulations were leaked, the narrative changed to non contact sport hence the links to Sport and Recreation

Not sure who is more confused.... Government or the NHA ..... as many are asking, what is the harm in you and your mate having a friendly game of tennis, or golf .... racing imo a slightly different matter .... but life is passing us by while we wait for Gov to decide on what is 'safe enough' ....

the hawk wrote: As per News 24, all non contact professional sports (cricket, golf, tennis, swimming, athletics etc) have been given the go ahead to commence on Monday. Remember horse racing does not fall under the ministry of sport and would not therefore have been specifically mentioned by the Minister. Soccer and rugby teams have been given the go ahead to start training but matches/leagues will only commence at a later stage. Naturally everything happens behind closed doors.

Within 14 days of the directions being published, sport bodies and professional clubs would need to apply for permission to resume activities.

Is Racing excluded from this ? I have no idea but I would expect that the NHRA would clarify? Would show jumping without spectators not also have to apply for permission? Has Racing applied and has permission been granted?

KZN Racing Returns with Hollywoodbets Back On Track Challenge
Prize Money of R530 000 up for grabs!
Horseracing makes a return to South African racecourses on Monday 1 June, and Hollywoodbets is celebrating with the launch of the Hollywoodbets Back On Track Challenge!
Prize money to the value of R530,000 is up for grabs, with individual challenges for trainers, jockeys, horses, grooms and apprentices.
This is the first time that grooms and apprentices will be included in the competition.
The Challenge applies to all KwaZulu-Natal race meetings at Hollywoodbets Greyville and Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
The challenge will run for the period 1 June 2020 to 25 July 2020, culminating with the final race on Vodacom Durban July day.
Points are awarded in accordance with the horses’ finishing positions i.e. in a 10-horse field, the winner will be awarded 10 points, 2nd 9 points and so on, with the last horse being awarded 1 point.
Similarly, in a 14-horse field, the winner will be awarded 14 points and the last horse just a single point.
In this winter edition, double points will be awarded to all participants in all Black-Type races (Grade 1, 2, 3 and listed races), of which thirty events are scheduled to take place.
There is R150,000 prize money on offer for each challenge involving the trainers, jockeys and horses.
For the grooms and apprentices sections, there is R40,000 prize money available for each challenge.
Racing fans will recall that a similar competition, the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge, was held between December 2019 and February 2020.
A winner in that popular inaugural event, Warren Kennedy, who currently leads the South African Jockey Championship, is not only excited about the return of racing, but is looking forward to defending his Sizzling Summer Challenge crown.
“It is great to see Hollywoodbets come to the party by launching a renewal of this competition, including an incentive for the apprentices this time. These are trying times and we have all gone through a lot over the past two months. It is just fantastic for horse racing that Hollywoodbets is conducting this challenge again,” said Kennedy.
“It was great fun winning the Sizzling Summer Challenge for jockeys and it created a lot of competition between riders, trainers and owners alike. I am looking forward to the new Back On Track Challenge and enjoying the positive energy it brings to KZN racing.”
A total of R75,000 of the R150,000 pot for the jockeys’ competition will go to the winner, with prizes offered up to 5th place. The R40,000 apprentice prize money will be distributed over the top 5 apprentices, with R20,000 awarded to the winning apprentice.
In the trainers section, R75,000 of the R150,000 pot will go to the winner, with prizes up to 5th place.
The R40,000 grooms’ prize money will be distributed over the top 10 grooms, with R16,000 being presented to the overall winner. The Grooms’ Initiative, sponsored by Hollywoodbets and Gold Circle, which sees R1,000 awarded to the winning groom of each race, will resume and run concurrently with the Back On Track Challenge.
Garth Puller, winner of the inaugural trainer challenge, has his eyes on the R75,000 cash prize for this edition. He is excited to hear that this challenge will kick-off the return of racing.
“Having won the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge for trainers earlier this year, the prize was a big help towards my stable expenses at the time, and I am delighted to hear that Hollywoodbets is sponsoring the renewal!” said Puller.
“It is also nice to see the apprentices and grooms being included this time around, creating interest across all sectors of racing. It is certainly appreciated by all stakeholders in KwaZulu Natal who are in desperate need of seeing some light at the end of this Coronavirus tunnel. Racing has been through the toughest time of late, and this initiative from Hollywoodbets goes a long way to help KZN racing. We will once again be the envy of South African Horse Racing, due to great concepts such as this. It is truly great to be Back On Track!”
Justin Snaith, trainer of dual Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, is ready for Champions Season, and believes that this challenge adds an extra impetus for the raiding parties.
“I was extremely excited to hear that Hollywoodbets is renewing the Sizzling Summer Challenge as a refreshed edition. And best of all, that the handlers and apprentice jockeys have been included. With Grooms being the back-bone of South African racing, they deserve the recognition, and this really could be life-changing for the winners,” said Snaith.
“The fact that a trainer from the Cape can participate in such a great concept is brilliant. I have always been as close to KZN Racing as I am to Cape Racing, and to be included in this competition for the first time just makes it so much more exciting for the stable.”
“I am really looking forward to getting this winter season up and running and can’t wait to compete in the Back On Track Challenge.”
This competition of course would not be possible if it weren’t for the return of racing. Gold Circle, who operate and administer horse racing in KwaZulu-Natal, has been working tirelessly with all the different stakeholders to make sure that the sport gets up and running again.
Gold Circle’s Events and Marketing Executive Steve Marshall says the competition is a great initiative to coincide with return the of racing to the province.
“The upgrades to the competition are fantastic and once again Hollywoodbets is providing a ray of light to KZN Racing and our stakeholders at a time when it is so desperately needed. The competition will generate an even greater buzz in racing circles, and provide another exciting angle to Champions season. We are extremely fortunate to have them as a partner,” said Marshall.
Hollywoodbets is also in the process of renewing the Sizzling Punters’ Challenge, with the launch date set for the Hollywoodbets Greyville race meeting on Sunday 7 June 2020.
R10,000 in prize money will be up for grabs at every KZN race meeting, paying up to 20 places.
Prize money will be doubled on feature race days (WSB Guineas, Daily News, and Golden Horse Sprint Days), with a mega prize for the final challenge on Vodacom Durban July day!
Details with regards to this challenge will be released in the new week.
Full details of the Hollywoodbets Back On Track Challenge can be found at blog.hollywoodbets.net or one can email BackOnTrack@hollywoodbets.net
Hollywoodbets #HollywoodbetsGreyville

What about the no sports in Hotspots?

Also was stated all stadiums and grounds, dressing rooms had to be signed off

“All Sports Prohibited in HOTSPOTS “ apart from racing?