Never mind our dysfunctional relationship with Tellytrack and the fact that we missed three of the four days of one of the world’s great racing festivals a fortnight ago. Punters have had a torrid time of things of late, and they just got no better at Scottsville today when every man and his dog followed a bit of a brass called High Arrow in the fourth race.
Tellytrack studio presenter Dave Mollett probably summed things up aptly when he said afterwards that ‘punters have been smashed from left, right and centre with the results of late.’
But it’s not only the results, Molly.
The Deon Visser trained High Arrow’s poor run was really just the cherry on the top of a frustrating recent time. Another cherry, that is.
Because after Tellytrack’s dithering (what else does one call it?) on Saturday (and today) with incorrect displays of minimum dividends, and results missing on Satote and general frustration, Tabgold comes up to deliver the theatrics today.
The racing information dissemination machine wheels came off for what was the umpteenth time this weekend as Tabgold declared that Jarred Samuel was to ride Catching Zeds in the third race.
That may sound innocuous on the surface, but it isn’t. When is somebody that can change something going to understand that?
Dave Mollett. Summed up the High Arrow effort well in the studio
Anton Marcus made the long trip to Pietermaritzburg for what everybody thought was just the one ride on High Arrow in the fourth.
Now that is a long way to travel for a potential winning maiden ride for a champion jockey who is headed for Dubai this coming weekend and some telephone number stakes.
So punters drew the obvious inferences and fell in hook, line and sinker on the back of High Arrow.
But it wasn’t true, it seems. Marcus had more than one ride.
Does it even matter?
A look at SA Horseracing.co.za will show that Marcus was declared by Lenny Taylor to ride the Pappas horse Catching Zeds at 08h36 on Sunday morning.
So he had the two rides and Tabgold are very lucky that Catching Zeds ran unplaced .Because there may just have been a riot.
So where did it go wrong?
Who actually knows, or cares, we wonder?
Anton Marcus. First choice jockey for most punters
Once upon a time in Cape Town a jockey by the name of Marcus Samuel plied his trade.
Are Tabgold that confused that they combined Jarred Samuel and Marcus Samuel and came up with Anton Marcus?
We think not.
The problem is that most of the folk operating the Tabgold machinery and the Tellytrack data room are not racing fanatics.
That’s why they wouldn’t remember Marcus Samuel or, more importantly, understand the importance of the huge difference of Jarred Samuel to Anton Marcus when it comes to punter’s lifechanging decisions and wagering their hard earned rands
The problem was compounded as race caller Craig Peters (he obviously uses Tabgold, so not his fault) called Catching Zed’s rider to be Jarred Samuel.
Tellytrack’s Wesley Bowman observed a few moments earlier that it was Anton Marcus.But he no doubt saw Marcus in the parade ring, so he knew what was happening.
Then in the preview of race 4 the confusion continued as Sheldon Peters said that High Arrow was ‘Marcus only ride of the day.’
At the end of the day, Pick 6 punters survived on the first timer rule technicality as High Arrow ran behind two first timers.
Bipot punters were blown out of the water with most tickets in the bin.
Losing bets are one issue. Being fed plainly incorrect information by the supposed official platforms is another entirely.
Nothing changes.
