There was no Pick 6 carryover on the Khaya Stables/ BSA / Jonsson Workwear Gr1 Cape Derby racemeeting at Kenilworth on the Cape Summer Season climax on 27 February. But that was for good reason, explains TAB in a response to the Sporting Post.
The absent Pick 6 carryover riled the faithful few and we had our own questions.
We received the inevitable frustrated prompts from our life members – the folk who hang in, some when there is almost nothing left to hang onto anymore.
The silence from the racing operator and TAB was noted at the time.
And it’s an ironic pearl, but the most important aspect of communication is hearing what isn’t said – is it not?
The simple frustration, and it’s not parochialism, for us and our staunch readers was that the Classic Day Pick 6 carryover on tomorrow’s Turffontein card was announced almost two weeks prior to the meeting, and all of six days ahead of Cape Derby day.
Yet nothing was forthcoming about the Kenilworth Pick 6. Some of us actually prefer to do our tom on Cape racing.
We asked the leadership hierarchy if they knew who actually cares about information? Joe Soap, the R6 bettor in the tote? The sponsors who came to the party for the big day? The media? Owners who are happy to buy horses, despite stakes? Trainers? The long-suffering Breeders?
All we were trying to achieve was simply to get answers on a routine question. But they – them, our leaders – turned the no real news into a monster by their silence
We suggested to them, particularly when it comes to the holy cow of carryovers, that the conspiracy machine churns out the theories. And can we actually blame the customer?
All stonewalling does is that the near zero confidence in the hierarchy just gets reinforced and perpetuated, as that is the way the consumer is always treated – and most of us are sick for the game anyway. So we are not exactly considering taking up hiking or boating on a Saturday aftrenoon. They have a captive, albeit depleted, market – for how long?
Full marks to Kenilworth Racing (or Cape Racing as they are now known) Chairman Bradley Ralph, who acknowledged our communication and undertook to revert with an explanation.
TAB kindly responded a week later with the explanation that grades of races are but one of several factors taken into account in determining the allocation of Pick 6 carryovers.
They pointed out that others include stature of the raceday, historical tote turnovers, and the necessity of at least one month-end Pick 6 carryover every month (excluding December) in order to stimulate excitement and interest at a point the most horseplayers have the discretionary spend to participate.
TAB no longer allocates Pick 6 carryovers in advance and makes up shortfalls if necessary.
What apparently has been agreed among the operators is a provisional list of Pick 6 carryover days and amounts, which range from a current maximum R5 million for mega days like the Cape Met and Vodacom Durban July, down to R1 million.
This is the minimum carryover amount required to attract international bettors, whose bets nowadays, they confirm, collectively comprise the lion’s share of any Pick 6 carryover pool.
The provisional Pick 6 carryover list is based in the first instance on the average annual total of Pick 6 carryovers and the reserve is monitored constantly in terms of how much money needs to be available in order to fund these provisional carryovers for at least the next 90 days.
Obviously if there are insufficient reserves at some point, a provisional carryover may have to be scrapped or the carryover amount reduced.
Conversely if there is an unexpected surplus, a provisional carryover amount may be increased or a carryover added to a race meeting not on the provisional list.
Bottom line is that there is not an infinite amount of Pick 6 carryover money available and carryover reserves for other bet types are deployed to stimulate betting interest in important race meetings that do not have Pick 6 carryovers.
Hence the Cape Derby meeting had a R250 000 Jackpot One carryover and a R250 000 Quartet carryover on the Derby itself.
Now all we need is a breakdown of what’s in the magical pot that we were once told by a top dog doesn’t really exist.
