Is that P's last word

lol

I have just returned from Hong Kong where aside from the Cathy Pacific meeting I can assure you the horses are extremely poor as a rule.However,turnover is massive.

Last wednesday evening at Happy Valley the total turnover for the meeting was over H$600 million which is basically R600 million rand.The 1st race was a 10-40 handicap worth over R500 000,with R20 million in the win pool and 15 million in the place pool.It was won by a horse who had yet to place in 11 starts and started 33-10 on the tote.

I have no idea what the average win pool is on the SA tote,but I very much doubt it is even close to R150 000.So with the rand at 12-1 to the pound and 7,5-1 to the dollar,how much money does it really take to affect our pools.

Phumelela sees itself as THE global tote operator.Enticing global punters to our markets and being THE facilitator of co-mingling on a global scale are it's main priorties.It makes sense,because enticing global punters with foreign currencies as opposed to growing the local fan base is far easier and obviously far more lucrative.

What is laughable is that are trying to be THE 21st century tote facilitator but that they are using late 20th century software to try and do it.The system is old and that is why there have been numerous crashes on the tote in recent months.How can customer confidence be built when the global currencies are so much stronger than ours and then to boot are only added to our pools after the race has already been run.

The question to be asked therefore is,'is there an updated tote sytem in the pipeline?'

Txs JAP, have sent an email, and possible feedback in the New Year?

I also find the "lucky numbers" unacceptable

In my tote report, the fact that bets in Aus can be cancelled 55 secs into the race, lends the comingling model open for "bastardisation" (for want of a better word)

55 seconds is just short of the final result in a 1000m sprint Dave and the completion of an 800m "Nappy Race" !! Scary stuff indeed as I can more often than not spot a top two finisher in a mile race at the 800m mark!!!!

True Steve, its not the fact that you can punt the winner at this stage, but in a small field you could in theory have $500 on a few horses and cancel your bets on the losers?

Dave,

not sure if you have seen these pools before,but it really is a sight to behold.Just for interests sake you should go to:

hkjc.com
click on ENG in the top left corner to get the english site
click HORSE RACING
click on CURRENT ODDS

Do this when the next HK meeting is on.It really puts things into perspective in terms of just how small the SA market is.

Will do JAP, the fact that a tote is a machine it can be manipulated, so oppertunities can be found, which can defy logic on a horses real chances of winning. Do you remember what the Japs done in France to the PM, with the money the placed on their hero? and that was for the ARC!

Sentiment plays a huge part.At the big Cathy Pacific meeting there was a 7-10 favourite on the HK tote that was 7-2 internationally.These are opportunities that we as punters can take advantage of,but they won't last forever.However,how can we take advantage of betting opportunities if the race is already in progress and the pool has not yet been finalized.Phumelela has put the cart in front of the horse,that's the problem.

Lets assume that the asian,that Jap heard about,is affecting our pools then you have to ask why he is prepared to reduce his own payouts to R1 a place?...money laundering ?.....he has a business...."extra" cash on horses....R1 return OK as long as a cheque from his local tote..gambling win..lucky guy !
There will be an answer!!!...an investigation is needed to find the actual facts and reveal that answer.... as we can speculate forever.
The problem is that launderers don't gamble,merely use gambling as a front,so they need a definite result !
Many years ago I watched a guy put R100 on each no. on a roulette wheel,every spin for about an hour,...he was laundering money at a cost of 2.7%...what a bargain,but he wasn't gambling!!!

Rob,

I'm not disputing what you say,you could be 100% correct.However,imo what is going on on the tote is that we have a tote system that is old,and yet P is using that system to try and be a market leader.The problem with that is that they are now handling money coming from all over the world,and therefore because the system is antiquated it simply cannot perform at the neccesary speed to make things fair to all punters.I am no computer expert,but how can we have races in the UK with 32 runners but only 20 numbers to bet on.Surely there must be a more updated system,or if not then the capital should be spent that provides a system where the integrity of the system is beyond dispute and functions such as 32 runner fields can be accommodated.

Agree 100% Jap...my concern,and I am sure that of many others,including yourself, is the apathy of P in this "mystery"(as in other issues)
Lets just all know whats cooking so that the mystery is removed.

To reinforce your point,about 10 weeks ago "PA tickets going forward"for Int meetings went on the blink and Margie told us it was a software issue,soon to be solved....yeah right!

They are so desperate to be ahead of the pack in the short term that the concerns of local punters are of little consequence.MARKET LEADER is a phrase that I am sure abounds in the P offices.At what price is what we are asking.As usual the punters are the ones that get short-changed,but who cares about them anyway.