More Mink Than Manure

Garrick wrote:

Yesterday I made my annual pilgrimage to Kenilworth racecourse for the King’s Plate. I was curious to see all the changes that I had heard and read about and perhaps touch base fleetingly with old racing friends.I was scheduled to meet at the entrance with the individual who had made the booking but as I had arrived early I though I might try and sneak in. No such luck. The admission Gestapo were having none of that. Eventually a ‘supervisor’ was found who established that, for a start, I had been in the wrong queue (huh?) and happily admitted me when my name was found on one of the multitudes of clipboard lists that characterised my journey to a reserved table in the Peninsula Room. Checkpoint Charlie seemingly had nothing on Kenilworth yesterday.

This process was preceded by a somewhat sad incident involving two would-be racegoers in the queue behind me. They were dressed in the blue and white attire of the day but were unaware that basic admission was R600 pp as, in their experience as regulars, admission to public areas is usually free. As they could not afford the price of admission, they reluctantly did an about turn and went home. If I had not already had to cough up R1,350 for my own ticket I might have been persuaded to front for them.

I was left in no doubt as I entered the enclosures themselves just how much has been done to revitalise the venue and its facilities. They say that the devil is in the detail and it appears that from the bottom up no expense has been spared to transform the tired old lady that was Kenilworth Racecourse. Kudos to all responsible for this transformation or alternatively thank you to Aviator for funding it!

Were there any negatives? To be honest – quite a number.Staging an event of this nature at the prices that are set perpetuates an elitism which I thought we were trying to get away from and probably excludes enthusiasts with limited affordability altogether. Unlike other high priced pinnacle events (eg rugby/cricket tests) management seems to forget that there is an additional opportunity to generate revenue over and above admission through betting. So why fleece customers at the gate?

I will not ever again attend an event in the Peninsula Room. Due to the design and acoustics, it is an aural ordeal to spend an afternoon there. Despite the crowd not being particularly rowdy you have to literally shout into the ear of the person sitting alongside you in order to be heard. By midafternoon one becomes completely tapped out.

Segregation rules at these events. Everybody seems to be consigned to a silo. To alleviate the ordeal of being seated in the Peninsula Room I went walkabout to view and enjoy some of the wonderful enhancements. It was only partially successful as my entry to many of the other venues was barred by one the many black attired personnel on security duty. Kansa City Bomber, anyone?

I have never understood racing’s obsession with fashion at big meetings. Have you ever met a fashion designer who actually owns a racehorse? They may draw some social butterflies to the course on these occasions but they seldom contribute much other than to take endless selfies. I noted with some amusement that the opening of the buffet coincided with the start of one the early races. Most of the patrons immediately left their seats to form a queue which has to say something about their involvement in the business at hand. Not even a glance at the monitors.

And the actual racing? It pains me to admit it as someone who once counted Kenilworth as his home-from-home but I was mainly bored.

Modern racing seems to have disconnected almost altogether from the customer. I overheard little or no chatter about the racing. Because I was ensconced three floors up, I never even got a whiff of a saddle or a horse. The corporatisation of betting has eliminated the bookmaker’s rings which added so much to the energy and atmosphere of the day in the past. Rather akin to closing a market and replacing it entirely with on line shopping………

As I did not want to get too heavily involved in betting on the day (and particularly on Cape racing!) I uncharacteristically supported the tote and took a R1500 Pick Six from which they gleefully skimmed R375 up front for providing this ‘opportunity’. I did so because marketing was trumpeting the promise of a R5,000,000+ pool. I believe it closed at under R4,000,000.

How is this sport surviving? I have no idea as inflation adjusted turnovers are horrific. I have seen not one initiative to bring more punters (not owners!) into the sport to improve the cash flow. Instead, they appear to be relying on wealthy individual patrons and bookmaking companies for handouts. At a time in my life when I have never been better placed to own horses I would not even countenance buying another as I just cannot stomach the prospect of spending a financially irresponsible R180k per annum per animal on keep in order to almost inevitably haemorrhage money.

Maybe I’m just too old given that my first Queen’s Plate was in 1972! Back then the winner collected R15,000; which would have comfortably bought the owner a top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz 380SE V8 priced at R10,000 (the first locally manufactured vehicle to break the R10k barrier in SA). Today the winner collected R 1,781,250; well short of the R 4,412,190 that the comparable Mercedes now costs. And let’s not even factor bread & butter races into the return on investment equation!Good luck to all you owners – you need to be properly wealthy to be in this game today.

Muhtiman wrote:

......and this is why most pedigree boffins and the like cannot make a steady living from this game.....most make a big song and dance at the outset.... get some big comm... fail to deliver on the big talk ...and are seldom used again ....but being honest and telling a potential big spender that you can help him lose a lot less just does not get any attention or mention at all.....oops

My late father and his mate owned horses my old man had 2 it was the late 90s and early 2000s. Back then the 2 horses were costing 50k a month and eventually he sold his share to his mate. His mate who also passed on owned quite a few and was a bookmaker back in the day. He seemed to make a profit backing horses only at long odds. He eventually also sold his horses. These horses were horses that placed and had a few win as well.

How on earth can someome in this day and age afford to keep a horse in training and racing even if it wins let alone a horse like dirty mimosa
 

Smallpunter wrote:

Muhtiman wrote:

......and this is why most pedigree boffins and the like cannot make a steady living from this game.....most make a big song and dance at the outset.... get some big comm... fail to deliver on the big talk ...and are seldom used again ....but being honest and telling a potential big spender that you can help him lose a lot less just does not get any attention or mention at all.....oops

My late father and his mate owned horses my old man had 2 it was the late 90s and early 2000s. Back then the 2 horses were costing 50k a month and eventually he sold his share to his mate. His mate who also passed on owned quite a few and was a bookmaker back in the day. He seemed to make a profit backing horses only at long odds. He eventually also sold his horses. These horses were horses that placed and had a few win as well.

How on earth can someome in this day and age afford to keep a horse in training and racing even if it wins let alone a horse like dirty mimosa

......something wrong with that sum(in bold).....training fees should have been around R12500PM average per horse at that time....don't think that R25k PM has yet been reached....but been out of touch since 2022


 

Muhtiman wrote:

Smallpunter wrote:

Muhtiman wrote:

......and this is why most pedigree boffins and the like cannot make a steady living from this game.....most make a big song and dance at the outset.... get some big comm... fail to deliver on the big talk ...and are seldom used again ....but being honest and telling a potential big spender that you can help him lose a lot less just does not get any attention or mention at all.....oops

My late father and his mate owned horses my old man had 2 it was the late 90s and early 2000s. Back then the 2 horses were costing 50k a month and eventually he sold his share to his mate. His mate who also passed on owned quite a few and was a bookmaker back in the day. He seemed to make a profit backing horses only at long odds. He eventually also sold his horses. These horses were horses that placed and had a few win as well.

How on earth can someome in this day and age afford to keep a horse in training and racing even if it wins let alone a horse like dirty mimosa

......something wrong with that sum(in bold).....training fees should have been around R1250PM average per horse at that time....don't think that R25k PM has yet been reached....but been out of touch since 2022

He may have had more horses i only remeber 2 and i just remeber my mither saying its the horses or me we cant spend 50k a month on this nonsense. He chose to dump.the horses

 

MichaelMGJ wrote:

The man that is taking over KZN racing doesn't believe that punters are important for the game!

@@@@@@@##@###@@@@@@
That is brilliant thinking from a knb who forgets that GAMBLING on Horseracing was the only legal form of betting in good old RSA. 
And then there were a handful of Bookies who only sponsored 1 or 2 events per annum like Transvaal Bookmakers Handicap or Natal Bookmakers Stakes etc. 
And the highest price yearling was LAWN who cost 100 grand. 
Today's Horseracing is all about price tags and the Major Feature Races are now sponsored by who? 
Rothmans, or Holiday Inns, Sun International, J&B. 
No. 
Even the Racecourses are now carrying the Sponsor Brand. 
So maybe the knb of a yb is right, Punters are not required any more in RSA. 
 Less Punters and more Bookies are good for the game as it brings in the sponsorships.