THE "CAT" HITS FRONT PAGE NEWS!!!!

After a crash lesson in camera technology, the CAT has been promoted to the home page!
Look forward to some more superb contributions from the David Bailey of Alberton.

I see no mention of his mentor

Sori for Mori

Cat trust me, I thought I had tried, but it has made no difference, so lets enjoy the box and have fun racing for as long as it lasts?

Lets review the Gosforth Park (my favourite) and The Newmarket story and ask ourselves some questions:

1. If they had been kept open (which in my opinion they should have been) would racing be any worse off than it is now?

2. If they had been kept open would racing be any better off than it is now?

In my book if they had still been with us punters, owners and trainers would still have at Newmarket
a) Nite racing
b) A wonderful track to bring 2yr olds out first time up the straight during the week on a very forgiving track
c) A safer destination for people to go and enjoy a day or nite meeting

If we still had Gosforth Park we would still have
a) One of the nicest on track facilities around
b) one of the better tight circut tracks in the southern hemisphere where good jocks could overcome bad draws..even making up ground round the bend

In addition we would still have plenty grass to race on avoiding this ridiculous situation of buildup we have now where 121 horses are nominated for a maiden plate

Do we need to know why and who made the decisions to close these two gems??

Yes so that mistakes like this are not made again (in my opinion) we cannot change what has happened but we do need to know the reasons why these decisions were made!

Although I was personally not involved with the Concerned Owners group of guys at the time I am very clear that this website ABC was born out of the need for punters, owners,trainers and whoever else to post their views for discussion and support on what changes especially the radical ones that were being made in racing.

Has the site over the years made a difference as to what future decisions are being made??

So far I dont think so which is a worry.

Were there some Survivor tactics played within the Concerned Owners Group at the time of elections??

Although I cannot say for sure as I was not privy to the discussions but from what Ive heard and trying to piece events together..Probably.

So what can we do now as a group of guys who worry about our local racing??

That to me is the 64 mill Dollar question as we still want to enjoy the game we all love and pour our disposable income into!

Phum is in a strong position financially (according to their latest yr end financials) but what are the plans going forward for racing in Gauteng?

Are new tracks or racecourses being developed, are there plans to increase stakes dramatically. are there plans to increase the no of graded races, are there plans for carnival weekends, what is the vision to bring back nite racing if at all.

We cannot just give up and watch our sport deteriorate (in our opinion)

Who can we approach that will listen to us rather than trying to tell us everything is gonna be alright and explain away the past.

Can someone involved and committed stand up and be counted and be in a position to make a difference?

Cat Im not disagreeing however it is plain to see the current RA hands are tied by some deal they did to get into their jobs.

The fact that none of them sits on the Phum Board whilst they represent the owners of the majority shareholder in Phum shows me very clearly that a deal has been made. How long this will go on is anybodys guess however if they truley felt that their members were being gagged then if they cant get it right they should move on and let others try.