South Africa’s oldest horseracing chat forum has reported exponential growth over the past two years. The africanbettingclan.com has enjoyed an at times tumultuous, and something of a love-hate relationship with the industry at large in the five short years of its existence. But it continues to provide a one-stop shop window into the weird and wonderful world that captivates us all.
The growth of the internet has largely opened the floodgates to a free flow of information in real time, on a scale never experienced ten years ago.
Is horseracing changing with the times? We aren’t sure of that one. For all its apparent sexiness and glamour, the sport of kings is actually quite an introverted personality.
Rather run wide and steer clear of the bunching on the rail and the flying hooves that is controversy and sensation. That has been the general instruction to anybody jockeying for any position or tenure in an industry that loves to pretend most of the time that everything is just fine.
Throw in the lack of communication and broader public relations across the board from most major role-players, and the racing forums have got be one of the best pep pills for horseracing since the open bet and the reality of alternative betting options.
The forums arrived like an unwanted pregnancy some years ago and the harried racing operators were just not equipped to cope with the new phenomenon. No training and past experience could prepare anybody for this outspoken and uncontrollable upstart that spewed both fact and fiction forth in huge doses. And then even sometimes before the event had happened.
In the predictability of human nature, the existence of the forums was denied, then criticised, momentarily embraced, and eventually given up for adoption, to hopefully make it somebody else’s responsibility.
Through all the denials and pretending, the chat forums were the most regularly visited sites by anybody who was anybody, as well as anybody who was nobody.
Today the Africanbettingclan has just about stood the test of time, and boasts amongst its advertisers, South Africa’s leading Bookmakers.
There are criticisms too. Anonymity creates a false bravado and phantom posters can say what they choose, defame and insult with relative impunity. But all posts are moderated, where required.
The subject matter also borders at times on the insensitive. The circumstances surrounding the recent tragic passing of young Kimberley trainer Sean Miller being one.
Irresponsible speculation can also be highly damaging, but if artists can paint insulting apendages on images of the President, then who is really above being criticised and ridiculed? The difference probably being that we knew the man who painted that portrait – we don’t always know the phantoms behind the colourful names of posters on the ABC.
On the positive side, sectors of the industry have openly embraced the concept. The likes of jockey Chippy Taylor did wonderful charity work recently using the platform. Sham Racing in Port Elizabeth exercise transparency with their stable information for Eastern Cape Racing. Tellytrack presenter Gavin Venter also posts his PA.
And even Bloodstock SA CEO Tom Callaghan talks to the public on the forum. Some may say he is either brave or crazy, but if one has nothing to hide, why not play open cards?
The huge growth of the ABC is amply demonstrated by the unique visits and hits shown below on the last three Vodacom Durban July Days.
31st July 2010 – 599 visits – 15189 pages – 47943 hits
2nd July 2011 – 891 visits – 28497 pages – 79397 hits
7th July 2012 – 2673 visits- 45139 pages – 178089 hits
In June 2010 their total hits were 1.35m, and in June 2011 this had grown to 4.73 m
The ABC’s flamboyant public face Dave Scott says that the short-term plans are to continue the growth and ideally look at a joint venture or partnership with a big player in the industry. This, he says, would facilitate the expansion of the product and provide a platform to supply maximum information to punters and enthusiasts in a one -stop shop concept.
For punters, information is king and there is no doubt that plenty of value has been contributed by the ABC.
We live in hope that the racing operators and the industry at large will see the light and buy in to a new age of transparency and information dissemination.
Like it or not, it is the future.
