Sporting Post columnists share their opinions and insights into horse racing from South Africa and around the world. They are experts who have a deep understanding of the sport of kings, enjoy their thoughtful and fresh articles.
While the argument that these penalties have been introduced to minimise the ‘fear factor’ may hold water, at this stage I suspect there is a larger ‘fear factor’ of what else may have been changed without notice.
One needs to be competitive, especially in big races, and to sit twiddling one’s thumbs at the back of the field becomes an extremely tough pill to swallow. Sometimes I wonder if there is not more competitiveness in an under 4 girls hockey team than there is in the jockey’s room
With the Green Point Stakes being run on the same day as the Selangor Cup, and with the same prize money on offer, there clearly would be no incentive for a 3yo to run in the Green Point and thus take on older horses
Pat Shaw again showed why he is a leading conditioner that can hold his own anywhere in the world
It is important that efforts should specifically focus on players and the playing experience rather than pushing the wagering side – and show a genuine interest in the wellbeing of the sport through sensible and clear racing objectives
With sons of the mighty Sunday Silence dominating last Sunday’s Gr1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, it seems his stud book legacy is assured via sire son, Japanese Triple Crown winner and dual Horse Of The Year, Deep Impact
Good management starts from the bottom up, not the top down and we appear to have too many people at the top who think they know what needs doing and too few people at the bottom who actually know what needs doing and getting on with it
We had the Jockey’s International this past weekend. I have to say I am not sure it was quite the event it was cracked up to be. There was plenty of funny old politics going on behind the scenes and stuff that should have been stopped a long time ago
The connection that started with Bartie Leisher still holds strong today. RacingB*tch takes a look at the South Africans that have helped shape Hong Kong racing
A number of the world’s prominent stallions have reached the 100 stakes winners milestone this year, writes Sarah Whitelaw
It has been a tough few days. Horseracing in Singapore lost a bright young star last week in a tragic accident
Former SA Champion jockey Andrew Fortune’s six month quest to be relicenced to ride again reaches something of a watershed
