The Centenary Club has been at the forefront of racehorse syndication in the Western Cape since its launch in 2020 by Bass Racing Stables, and has proven a great success for all involved.
The plans for the future are very exciting and just may be the perfect answer to what we have all been looking for in growing the Sport of Kings in South Africa.
Everybody’s a winner! Centenary Club lead-in at Kenilworth (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Syndication is not new to horseracing, but has probably never fully been taken advantage of properly in South Africa.
Most trainers have dabbled in it from time to time, but for some reason it just never really appears to sustain and succeed long term.
But the Centenary Club have other ideas. They work slightly differently to regular syndicates – so they require a once-off minimal payment upfront. No monthly training fees, no syndication fees, no vets bills and no future bills whatsoever!
And as the name suggests it is a syndication of 100 members, which is well over the National Horseracing Authority’s designated limit of 20 members. This means affordability, and that can only lead to an opening up of a whole new market of potential buyers.
Centenary Club flagbearer Nippy Winter storms home (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The first Centenary Club syndicate was formed in 2020 when purchasing the Maine Chance bred What A Winter filly, named Nippy Winter. The compact CTS Ready To Run graduate cost just R120 000. The 100 shares were sold in just 48 hours!
She looked a typically early and fast type, and a perfect model for mass syndication. While it took a while for Nippy Winter to win her first start , placing in her first 7 attempts kept her owners in high suspense. And when she did win, she practically brought the house down.
Her record now stands at 14 runs 2 wins and 11 places for earnings just shy of R200 000 – and she is only a three year old.
Her trainer Candice Robinson told the Sporting Post that Nippy Winter is a little star with the heart of a lion.
Shiny, happy people! Centenary members raise a glass to their winner (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
“She makes us all super proud every time she steps foot on the race track, giving it her all every time. She is nick-named the ‘ATM’ on the owner club’s Whats App group with her 100 owners, and she must be the most popular horse in South Africa at the moment, with family visits from her owners and admirers most Saturdays.
“I am aiming at some black type with her! She is improving all the time and she will be a great asset at stud one day which is great for the owners as they are the ones who will benefit,” added Candice.
Nippy Winter is a prime example of what can be done to introduce new people to the game of racing. More than 75% of her owners had never owned a race horse previously. They receive all the stakes she earns as well as any value held by the mare at Stud.
An enthusiastic Mark Bass confirmed that the concept has been a great success and a lot of fun.
Flashback to Durban July 2017 – Mark, Candice and Mike Bass
“I am in the process of arranging that the owners maintain ownership free of charge after her career, as a broodmare, so that they can then experience the racing cycle of life in full circle. We will then decide as a group as to whether we sell her progeny or race on the legacy.”
Mark adds proudly that the concept has created some racing fans of note.
Centenary Club’s colt Forged Steel (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
“They can’t get enough of her, and their interest in racing has sky rocketed. Many have even bought shares in other horses and are now official owners. We launched our second Centenary Syndication this year, where we offered 200 shares in two horses – a colt named Forged Steel and a filly called Pipers Creek. And it has gone fantastically! We are practically full now with just under 20 shares left to sell. As with Nippy Winter the cost to own a share is just R4 000 once off. We have owners from SA and all over the globe – including the USA, Europe, Mauritius, and a host of other countries.”
Centenary Club’s smashing filly called Pieper’s Creek (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Looking at the demographics, Mark says that most are new to the game but it is a great mix as there are also some big racing enthusiasts involved who just love having an interest.
“Many of the smaller punters who have only ever dreamed of owning a race horse are now owners. We even have a Royal Ascot owner as well as a cricketing legend in Brian Mc Millan. It’s all about anticipating that winning feeling. Although you only own a small share, it’s your share, and in my opinion is as good as owning a whole horse yourself. In fact it’s more fun as you get to experience it with friends, family and new partners.”
Mark points out that many people have also bought a share as a Birthday or Christmas gift for Kids, families, grandparents, and practically anyone can get involved.
“We even have a three month, interest-free terms arrangement, leaving no one out of being able to get involved. Nippy Winter will in all likelihood make a reasonable profit for her owners, but that’s not the point. The main reason is that they are there to experience one of the greatest feelings in the world – leading in a winner !”
The reality is that syndication is successful in many countries, including England, Ireland and France. But none more so than Australia and the United States.
Syndication groups like China Horse Club, Dooley Racing, The Value Club and Diamond Racing, to mention a few are all massively successful and have up to 3000 members per syndicate. . As a result, they are amongst the biggest buyers on the Sales circuit and the more members, the more buying power the manager has.
“It’s a recipe for success!” says Mark Bass.
“Just last weekend the Dubai World Cup was won by the Bob Baffert trained County Grammar who won a first place stake of R125 million for his 350 owners. There have been so many champion race horses in the past, including Animal Kingdom, who provided a 30 000% return on investment after winning the World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. With mass syndication the dream is real , and the dream is affordable. It’s time we take this seriously!”
So how do we take this forward in South Africa? Mark Bass has a grand idea on the horizon for the future of the Centenary Club.
“The Centenary Club has been a great success for us and will continue to be so as we purchase a new one every year. But why stop there? We need South African racing as a whole to benefit , not just Bass Racing.”
The best place on the racecourse – the winner’s enclosure (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Mark intends calling a few meetings with his peers, and says that his vision for South Africa is for every stable in every centre in the country to have a Centenary managed syndicate.
“The numbers are quite staggering on the market cap. There are 128 registered trainers. If everyone bought into this idea and we ran it as an official entity where we all worked together on the same module, that would mean potentially a staggering 12 800 new owners every year. Getting 100 new owners each is really not a hard task to achieve given the fact that you would practically have a year to put it together.”
Mark concedes that getting every trainer to do this may be a bit far fetched but even if the industry attracted a fraction of this, it’s thousands of new owners.
So how does Mark envisage this working in the future?
“By working together under one Syndication entity with the same vision, this can easily be achievable. Historically, we have never been an industry that works together, but I think it’s about time we all pull together for the betterment of the industry and for all our futures in this sport. There are so many benefits. By putting together hundred man, affordable syndications in the hands of trainers, and managing this all for them, it could just work!”
Mark has thought widely and says that he would love to see an annual Centenary Cup run, which would be a race limited to trainers and their syndicated horses.
“We can also bring the classic and exciting Match Race back again as stables and syndications fight it out one-on-one on the track. More importantly everyone benefits. I would love to negotiate and agree with industry players for mass discounts on stabling vets, feed, transport, physios and even free Private suits on our major courses for all the members to enjoy. There are many other perks we can pass on to the owner and trainer. Everyone needs to give and contribute to make this a success. It’s marketing on a grand scale and a sacrifice we all need to concede to grow the game. We need to treat our new owners like royalty.”
Mark adds excitedly that trainers would benefit from a huge cash flow boost annually as they receive training fees up front, a marketing boost for the stable, and access to a mega data base of potential future buyers.
He feels that the industry would also benefit as a whole as potentially thousands of new people flock to the game including new sponsors, free marketing through word of mouth, and injecting life into race courses and on-course restaurants that would actually have an atmosphere again.
“I know there are many important factors to making racing great again, but I think it’s a good starting point to kick things off in the right direction. It’s a win-win in my opinion, but the trick is to obviously make it all happen!”
To get involved in the Centenary Club you can visit their website at:
www.centenaryclub.co.za or just visit the Bass Racing website for more info.
