I know that nobody has all the answers, but are we marketing this game correctly? This crossed my mind briefly after watching Saturday’s big day from Turffontein and then spending a sweltering Sunday at Durbanville racecourse in the company of a few dirty pigs and ravenous cows in the parade ring.
So what’s new about the parade ring population, you are probably asking yourself? Careful now, and stop being so bloody sensitive and jumping to all kinds of silly assumptions. I was fortunate to spend a magnificent day at the Festival Of The Grape, which was held at the scenic racecourse for the first time this year.
And the pigs and cows, were genuine live farm animals in the winners enclosure nogal, along with ponies and the obligatory jumping castles and slip ‘n slides for the kiddies entertainment. This while Ma and Pa pretended to taste wine and savour the beautiful golden and red nectars of some of the Cape’s leading smaller wine estates.
Scenic
The beautifully scenic racecourse was lined with stalls of the various estates who offered tasting, and excellent and varied food was on offer. To top it all, top class local music was on offer and it was just a lekker day out.
With close to 1000 people on course and a carnival atmosphere prevailing, I wondered why the racing gods don’t stop trying to create their own lawn festivals and side shows, and rather not piggy back on a superb show like the Festival Of The Grape? It wasn’t cheap to get in. R100 for adults and kids half that price, but the place was full and the parking area was overflowing with smart vehicles. Full marks to Western Province Racing for slapping a Bring ‘n Braai note on the windscreens for this coming Saturday. Somebody’s thinking out of the box.
Interestingly, in conversation with a few of the visitors, most of them seemed clueless what the place was usually reserved for. “A racecourse you say?” said an Oom with a comb in his golf hose from somewhere behind the braaivleis curtain.
His wife asked me where they keep the horses and if jockeys were really such good dancers. I told her I had never danced with any. Just really good quality people, with the penchant and the income to buy decent wine. We should have been signing them up. I thought how far removed from Turffontein on Saturday!
Soley Soley
Besides the energetic Dave Mollett with his John McCririck type exhortations to induce even the stodgiest poorest viewer to open a betting account, I found the feature race presentation on the channel very middle of the road indeed.
The way Molly handled Mary Slack’s ‘so what does that have to do with anything?’ reply in response to his statement that the Oppenheimers have been the backbone of SA Racing for over fifty years, smacked of a seasoned pro who has walked a long road in this game. Just like when his PA goes belly up. He didn’t stutter, he didn’t blush. Thank goodness Mrs Slack picked on him!
I am not going to swipe at individuals, but the different league lovable Molly aside, some people just aren’t television personalities. Full stop. We have seriously accomplished guys like Andrew Bon, Stan Elley, Rouvaun Smit and Aidan Lithgow sitting on the sidelines, kicking their heels. Why not use them?
Packaging
And it all comes down to how we market and package the product. Paging through a copy of the international men’s magazine Esquire this weekend, I came across an article outlining the 25 Skills Every Man Should Know.
It suggests men are born without them, spend a lifetime acquiring them, and check them at the door on your way out — and for what? ‘To survive in the wild? To get rich and retire early? No. You acquire skills so you can be a man of action, because in a world in which everyone outsources and delegates, action is what sets you apart,’ says the blurb.
Interestingly the list includes ‘Betting The Horses’ at number 3, so maybe there is credible hope for the game amongst the fashion conscious trendy metrosexual? Mind you after reading the rest of the list, we should possibly not get overly excited.
It includes how to get the attention of a busy bartender, how to fillet a fish, how to cook an egg four ways, how to stop a running toilet, how to make pancakes from scratch, how to jump start a car and even the testing and sometimes expensive, how to console a crying woman. All that makes the heartache and stress of punting sound simple!
Answers
I don’t have the answers, but a very knowledgeable racing man summed it up best recently. Western Cape Stipendiary Steward Tarquin Norval, when interviewed by my colleague Sarah Whitelaw on Gavelhouse.com and asked what he thought of racing’s future, said:
The industry has changed so much over the years, the demands and the expectations are different. It is much more a numbers game than one based on a love of horses. The crowds of the 70’s and 80’s have gone and been replaced by an invisible punter who looks at numbers and the exotic bets. Gone are the days of looking at the horses in the parade ring, enjoying the heady excitement of seeing the clash of top horses, and enjoying the atmosphere of being at the races.
Will that change? I dont think so. It has a future, but a different one.
.
The Secret’s Out
Following my reference to the scratching of Justin Snaith’s top filly Victorian Secret (SP 1917) from the Kenilworth meeting on 23 February, I must admit to having received plenty of positive feedback.
Many punters were obviously hurt when the daughter of Captain Al was kicked at the start as a hot favourite and banker bet. The story though, did not end there.
The lovely filly came out fighting fit last Friday at Fairview and slammed her field in the Lady’s Pendant. But what happened to her injury and the 12 day suspension rule? She was scratched from the Kenilworth race in terms of rule 53.5, which states that:
‘A horse which is scratched from a RACE on veterinary grounds shall be automatically suspended from taking part in a RACE for 12 DAYS, calculated inclusively, from the date of scratching, or the RACE from which it was scratched, whichever is the earlier, provided that the SB may, on its own initiative or at the request of the OWNER or TRAINER of the HORSE affected, instruct a licensed veterinary surgeon to examine such HORSE and in special circumstances, the SB may lift such suspension’.
The fact that Victorian Secret ran at Fairview led me to assume that a Stipendiary Board had lifted the suspension. We punters in any event were in the dark from the get go and had no indication as to the severity or extent of the injury. I set about searching for the notice of the waiver of the suspension and to ascertain which Stipendiary Board had taken a decision to lift it.
Because let’s face it, only the connections or those close to them, would have known of the filly’s well being or general state of health. To my mind the ordinary tote punter was thus at a serious disadvantage . I put it to Phumelela and the National Horseracing Authority that publishing a note in the Stipes Report of the Fairview meeting where she won, was a case of the horse having already bolted and of historical value only.
To his full credit, the NHA’s Denzil Pillay replied immediately, without any spin or legalese. After reviewing my suggestion, he agreed that when a horse is reinstated in terms of this rule, that there should be a press release published so that punters are informed. He said that this shortcoming in the system would be immediately remedied.
.
Dangerous
The horrifying story of a young horse from one of the Cape’s top yards that broke out of the Milnerton Training Centre at around 16h30 on Saturday afternoon, underlines the great responsibility on the shoulders of trainers and grooms.
Phumelela Racing Executive Patrick Davis confirmed the incident: “I’ve chatted to Dean Diedricks, our Racing Manager in the Western Cape, and he advises that the unfortunate incident occurred at around 4:30pm on Saturday. Apparently the horse somehow managed to escape from its stable and proceeded to run straight through the gate , which was closed by the way. It then ran straight through the pre-cast perimeter wall, thereby running into the road where the stable staff later caught him,” said Davis.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that private vehicles were damaged, but no personal injuries were sustained by any member of the public, as the frightened animal made its getaway. The getaway horse was apparently subsequently euthenased.
Thankfully, and despite the centre housing the majority of the Cape’s racehorse population, this kind of incident is very rare. There is a famous story about a loose horse that charged most of the way from Milnerton down Koeberg Road into Brooklyn some years ago, before being captured.
.
Bring & Braai
A large crowd is expected to turn out at Durbanville this Saturday, where braai facilities will be laid on. Western Cape Racing Marketing Manager Lynn Hampson said that they were looking forward to a record turnout:
“We provide the charcoal and the firelighters. Just bring your own meat and braai it at your leisure. With entrance free, everybody is invited to come out with the whole family and friends. We will have crafters on course and kiddies entertainment is provided as usual,” she said.
