Hypocrisy personified?
Genuine need or patent greed? The moral and commercial fisticuffs that characterise the debate over whether we really need horseracing and gambling on one of the most religious days of the Christian calendar, continues unresolved.
As one tote teller yesterday summed up the prospect of working on Good Friday: The slaves will be toiling at the grindstone while the big whigs and bosses,who made the tough decision to race, enjoy a leisurely day of rest with their families.
Maybe retired jockey Willie Uys and his followers had a great idea some years ago when they threatened to strike and boycott plans to hold an Eastern Cape Good Friday meeting. That revolutionary approach to good moral value appears to have fallen by the wayside with Good Friday racing the norm these days. The jam-packed fields and enthusiastic trainers and jockeys that turned up for today’s Fairview meeting, bearing ample testimony that business goes on.
We even have a double header locally, with Greyville holding a night meeting this evening. Maybe the turnabout has something to do with economics?
The racing operators don’t seem to appreciate the moral dilemma of granting their hardworking tote staff the benefit of a much needed day of rest with their families and their religion, if that be their personal choice. Poorly paid and working long hours in trying conditions that includes challenging equipment and abusive customers, they perform a thankless job. Besides Christmas Day, they aren’t guaranteed another day off.
Business as Unusual! They didn't even post signs on the shut doors.
On the customer front, It may also have been a commendable gesture for the wives and families, who have fathers sitting in tote outlets at every opportunity on weekends and public holidays. One can’t realistically be expected to play moral protector for adults who have the freedom of choice to legally do what they choose, but we have the inkling that more good than bad could have been achieved internally and externally.
Not that the casino bosses would ever consider the rest day or closing option either, with the Grandwest, Sibaya and Montecasino parking areas full of happy family sedans.
The racing authorities compounded their poor image and also pulled a rank poor trick of shocking customer management when they opted to race anyway. Selected agencies and branches chose to remain closed today at a whim with customers, particularly those at the bottom of the food chain without their own transport, left knocking on locked doors with no alternatives in many centres.
And we are led to believe that boosting betting turnover is a priority? C’mon guys. If you had to have raced today, then why not do it properly? Open or close, then communicate. Simple, surely?
All The R's. Respect. Religion. Rest. We wish you a Happy Easter.
How it should have ideally worked is that Phumelela and Gold Circle should have insisted that all branches advertise their plans for the weekend by latest Wednesday this past week. Notices in, at the very least, English should have been prominently displayed and even advertised on Tellytrack and in publications.
The irony is that the outlet that we visited yesterday, weren’t even sure if they were going to open today. That is plain unprofessional. But there is only one guarantee. It will happen again next year.
The problem is that punting is all about not putting all one’s eggs in one basket… case!
We wish all our readers and visitors, a safe and happy Easter.
