The time is now! (Part 1)
Published by charl on October 8, 2009
LOUIS GOOSEN, in his column What’s The Story, goes back to basics, identifying problems in the SA racing industry and looking for solutions. He argues that there is little time left to fix things, and if we don’t pull together we’re heading for disaster.
On the other hand…… (Please scroll all the way down to participate in full!)
Boots ‘n All is a long running and very well entrenched rugby chat show and Naas Botha’s immortal words, “on da udder hand, Darren,” always spring to mind, when one thinks of Rugby and Naas and Darren and the early years of the show.
There are always two sides to any story and indeed, if you believe the cynics, then there are actually three sides to a story, the third being the truth.
On the one hand, we have what is perceived to be the truth or the facts. When we write about these or even dare to mention them, we could be perceived as being “negative” about the industry. Further, we could well be labelled as contributing towards reduced turnovers or racecourse attendance. Ultimately, though, the truth will remain and if the shoe fits, it must be worn.
On the other hand, we could remain spectators as we let things sort themselves out or let others sort them out. We can focus only on the good things in Racing, we can join the majority and exist quite happily on the premise that there is a world wide economic downturn, that “alles sal regkom”, (all will be wel!) that it’s easy to find fault with any system and that every industry has its ups and downs. This is the easy way out, there is no conflict at all and one invariably ends up with a nice pat on the back, with the inevitable tag of being a “good boy”.
And this is where inner turmoil comes about, for myself, when it comes to writing this or any other column. What has prevailed is the fact that I have invested a fair amount in this industry and that myself and Lauren remain the biggest investors in the yard.
Love and passion keeps the game alive.
Like the vast majority in Racing, we have a love and passion for thoroughbred racehorses and racing. But, love and passion will not sustain us or the industry. When we step down from our lofty perches and remind ourselves of the very basics, the fundamentals, we might just catchawakeup! We might just all get up off our backsides and be part of positive change and development.
Simple
Racing is supposed to be a simple game in which there are no guarantees. Before we even start on the dilution of local racing through the invasion by overseas racing and/or harness racing on Tellytrack, or on a host of other aggravations, let’s try again, to outline the fundamentals of South African Thoroughbred Horseracing.
Racing exists through the funding of two groups or bodies. These are the owners and the punters. The industry cannot exist without either of these bodies. Racing is that simple.
Owners pay the keep of the horses in training. For example, in Gauteng alone, an estimated R15M is paid, per month, by owners for the keep of their racehorses. That’s some R180M per annum, which the owners put into Racing in Gauteng alone. (That’s excluding the initial purchase price of the horses, which is probably around R250M per annum). Owners, therefore, must be highly valued by the industry, because without them, there would be no racing for punters to bet on. In return for their substantial investment in Racing, all that the owners ask is that their horses are catered for, in terms of stakes earning or racing opportunities.
Punters again, are just as vital to the industry, simply because they create the turnovers, which in turn create the stakes pools. In Gauteng alone, punters create a turnover of about R1 billion per annum. All trainers, jockeys, grooms, officials, NHA staff, RA staff, Phumelela staff, Tellytrack staff, the racecourse photographers, the Operator’s subcontractors and anyone else who benefits from or who “takes out” of Racing, including the shareholders of Phumelela, receive that money directly from the turnover of punters which is facilitated by the investment of owners.
A punter is a strange animal. Kept happy, he will return and be very loyal!
It is therefore simple common sense that keeping owners and punters happy, has to be the one and only goal of all in Racing. This one and only goal must be cast in stone, it must be an obsession and it must be the primary condition of employment and/or participation in Racing, for any and every person involved in Racing. Yes, that includes the doorman, the caterers, the gatekeeper, the gardener, the people who work in Racing’s admin sections, the management of Phumelela and most importantly, the executive and non-executive members of the PGL board.
Happy Punters
In order to keep punters happy, their needs must be addressed. Punters often complain of the following:-
1. Beverage prices-
Nothing seems to irritate punters more than having to pay too much for a drink. Punters remain adamant that they are supporting the turnover of Racing, which already has a fair cut of every rand that they spend. They just cannot understand why they pay so much, when food and beverage is not the core business of Racing. Far from asking for a free drink, all punters are asking for, here, is a fair deal.
2. Cheque payouts-
Punters play with cash and when they win, they are paid by cheque. This really aggravates them. Little effort is made, to convert cheques back to cash for punters.
3. Tellers-
Punters feel that many tellers are downright rude and arrogant, as if doing the punter a favour, when taking his/her money.
4. Long lines-
Punters get really aggravated when only 2 out of 5 tellers are open and they cannot get their bets on. For instance, once we got the crowds to the Vaal on Emerald Day, too few tellers were open. There were still people standing in line at the start of races.
5. Valued-
Punters don’t feel valued by Racing, overall.
In truth, punters come in all shapes and sizes, in terms of their betting methods and preferences. Ultimately, if all in Racing were obsessed with the ultimate goal in Racing, if all were fully aware of where their salaries came from and if all in Racing were forced to value punters as one of Racing’s two life bloods, then there would be no hesitation in immediately instituting the following:-
1. Sell food and beverage at the lowest prices possible, even at cost.
2. Arrange central cash depots, at easily accessible points and/or a service based
system of getting cash to punters who have won.
3. Carefully select tellers who have been properly trained, who understand that
punters pay their salary.
4. Stop turning punters away. Get their bets on. That little R30 bet that was turned
away, could have been a winning bet which, on the right day, turned into R3000 or
R4000 turnover, by the last race.
5. Make every effort to value punters. Make info easily and readily available. Assist
punters wherever possible.
There are a host of electronic or telephonic options for punters, rather than popping down to your local TAB and placing a bet. But, do the majority of punters have access to these computers and gadgets? Don’t a lot of punters still prefer sitting down and enjoying their days racing? Either way, we must cater for all punters.
Happy Owners
In order to keep owners happy in Racing, their horses need to race. It’s no use turning racing stables into livery yards, due to horses not having fair racing opportunities and spending most of their time in their stables, whilst they “wait” for a race. When 4 of the 5 courses in Gauteng are either very draw dependant or prone to cramping, even a very decent horse can be beaten or run below par.
Some 4 years ago, you could almost always get a horse to the races twice a month if you chose. Then draw was not as much of an issue because you could scratch and wait for a better draw, as the next race was soon and cramping or interference on narrow tracks, such as the newly divided Vaal Turf Courses was very rare. These situations increase the degree of difficulty and result in unnecessary costs for owners, in that horses just take longer to earn their stakes potential nowadays. Time is money, for owners.
Chatting with a group of jocks and trainers a few weeks ago, the point was made when the one question which kept coming up was, “What happened to the days when you nominated a horse for two or three races, then picked the easiest or best race?” Nowadays, we nominate for the only race available and then pray that we get a run, as eliminations are the order of the day and we can’t scratch because of a bad draw, as we will end up with a five year old who has had 10 or 12 runs. And owners will have to pay the bills, for these horses.
Owners and punters are not happy. Their needs are not being seen to and when we start to lose these two groups, our lifeblood is gone and the industry will cease to exist and the Phumelela share price will quickly drop back to around 50 cents. And lose them we will, if we don’t get the two most basic fundamentals right, quickly!
Programming of Races
There are many circumstances, though, that are beyond the control of the racing operators, trainers, jockeys, owners, etc.
One of these is the increased horse population. Training Centres are full. The point is that owners are still investing and that it’s a very tough or impossible job, really, to cater for the entire population, always.
It would be stupid to have a go at the programmers, for two reasons. Firstly, the programme can only be prepared after the fixtures dates and stakes pot has been declared. These parameters are not set by the programming committee, but are passed down to them, from above. Secondly, whilst it is easy and in fact, the order of the day to criticise the programmers, I still wait to meet one of these critics who can do a better job, as a programmer. It’s a very tough job.
They’re all waiting for a Maiden Plate!
However, the one very important piece which is missing from the programming puzzle is the lack of a proper, on-line horse census. In years gone by, a manager of the Racing Operator would pop in to trainers offices and do a census on the yard, for programming purposes. For some reason, this practice has fallen by the wayside. It is therefore obvious that the programmers are now planning blindly, due to them not being given the correct info, to start with. They only have history to work with, but no real census, especially not one on unraced horses.
Nowadays a simple, compulsory, on-line census could be forced on trainers. We are living in the information age…… or are we not? This would not be difficult to set up. We already nominate or scratch on line. Our strings are there. All we would have to do is click the square……and the programmers would know what our raceplans are.
Having a look at the programme for October, November, December and January, the following reflects, after a quick count:-
54 race meetings
427 races (excludes Juveniles, Listed, Graded races)
259 maiden races (61%)
168 other races (39%) - 1 time winners and more
Obviously, with this many meetings there will be more racing opportunities. Maidens keep on being eliminated, so the emphasis on maidens (61%) is good, given that many more horses debut in summer etc.
The concern is that only 39% of races are for winners, who might battle to get a run and which could cost owners money, as they stand in their stables.
The latest figures show that of all horses that have raced in Gauteng since 1st March 2009, the following numbers exist:-
408 Maidens
718 Raced horses, who are winners.
But, there are still many unraced horses out there. It appears that even with 61% of maiden races programmed, there could still be a shortage of maiden races. (This is a guess, just like with programming, as we do not have a census on the unraced horses). Again, the winners are going to battle to get into the remaining 39% of races. The bigger racehorse population together with the bottleneck which was caused by too few races this year are the causes of the problem.
Solution - Owners
Patrick Davis has assured us that Phumelela will split over-subscribed races, wherever possible, during the season. At this point, Phumelela are splitting races.
Only time will tell us how often “wherever possible” means. But, this acknowledgement and agreement from the Operators is a step in the right direction, one which could see us looking forward to 10 or 11 races on a card, as we all pull together and endeavour to get all of the owners’ investments to the races, regularly. The minority and the elite don’t come into the picture. The vast majority of owners do.
On the other hand, one must ask, “Where were the majority?” on Tuesday 6th October at Vaal Sand? Not one race on the card was oversubscribed or had reserve runners. A batch of horses which were carded for Kimberley on Monday 5th were also carded for Tuesday 6th and would obviously not run. Adding to these scratchings were many other scratchings which were due to handicapping/ Racing Bureau errors with regard to benchmarks.
An already poorly supported meeting was desecrated in numbers. This meeting had to be a huge loss for the Operators, surely.
Upon enquiry, a host of reasons for the poor support for this meeting have been forwarded:-
1.It is not yet full summer and many turf horses await their turn. We are “in between” seasons, coming back from winter and inoculations etc.
2.From 24/9/2009 to 6/10/2009, there were 5 meetings in Gauteng. Only one was on turf. There are only just “so many” sand horses and they have had lots of sand racing during winter. During this 13 day period, add in two Kimberley sand meetings too. (7 meetings, 1 on turf).
3.Poor or “stereotyped” programming - Not only the glut of recent sand racing refers, but also the fact that the 8 races on the card offered only sprint races:-
2 x 1000m races, 2 x 1200m races and 4 x 1450m races.
4.Acceptances for Kimberley 5th and Vaal 6th were both done on Wednesday 30/9/2009 and both closed at 10h00. Given Kimberley’s “guaranteed runners”, there was just no way of knowing if you would get in or not, so trainers declared for both meetings.
5.In the case of Kimberly runners being carded to race on the next day, this clearly indicates the ineptitude of those that run the National Racing Bureau. They should have made the later meeting’s acceptances (6/10/2009) close at 12h00.
Racingweb’s LIVE TALK- A Solution!
The best way to get a wider range of info on punters and owners complaints is going to be through Racingweb’s LIVE TALK. It’s time for every owner and every punter to have his/her say. When a punter stands in line and can’t get his bets on, here’s your chance - say something! Also, when an owner is frustrated, when his/her horses keep on getting eliminated or there are just no races for the horse - say something! Owners and punters - this is your chance to tell it like it is.
The thread will be entitled “Owners and Punters reports“, and it is already open. And if you are not yet registered, please do so now. It’s very simple.
To view this thread, simply go back to the top of the home page and click on “LIVE TALK”, then on “All about The Sport Of Kings”, and register to say your say.
When registering your complaint, please be sure to include proper details. This way everyone can see it and nobody can deny it. Please make sure that you tell all and sundry about this new thread on Racingweb’s LIVE TALK. We need as much input as possible, as many participants as possible.
Margaret van Steenderen of Phumemela has given her undertaking that problems raised on the forum would be investigated, addressed and that she would report back weekly or sooner. So click here and participate.
And I firmly believe that the Operators will address these problems/ complaints and that positive change will come, for the good of Racing. There are quite a few in Racing’s management who really try hard and who want nothing else but a healthy Racing Industry. Let’s have a go, we’ve nothing to lose… we’ve already lost our shirts…
Next time we look at trainers and jockeys and the roles which they should or could play in the industry. It should be interesting…….
Until then………..That’s the story!
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