My involvement in racing started in the middle to late 80’s when I was introduced to the game by a close friend.
He asked me what I knew about racing and realised that I basically knew nothing.
He set out to explain a few things around stable jockeys and successful trainers and I realised instantly that there was so much to learn.
Leon Smuts writes in the Sporting Post Mailbag that he was at varsity those days and money was always tight so the idea of maybe winning some “easy money” was rather appealing.
My friend Tommy said we should play the PA as this was the easiest of the exotics to win and that it sometimes paid seriously good money as well.
After parting with a solid R5 we ended up winning R25 each.
This might sound like nothing, it was actually decent money back then and more importantly it grabbed my attention and interest. Now I was keen to play again and started following bet types and payouts and I was soon ready to tackle the mighty Pick 6.
I asked Tommy to play us a Pick 6 about 4 weeks after we started but he mentioned a wedding he had to attend and that we should have a go the following weekend.
He was clear though that this was a tough bet to win and that he had never won, even though he had tried a number of times.
With zero knowledge of the game, but plenty of ‘ignorant confidence’, I duly proceeded to buy a Computaform and made some hasty selections on the Friday before the Saturday race day.
I ended up playing R11 with a R1 P6 (before increased minimum bets), a R2 place accumulator and an R8 Jackpot. This I duly went and played the Friday afternoon, oblivious of the possibility of scratchings or changing weather conditions or a multitude of other factors like late money and the like.
One could listen to the races on the radio those days and I knew no other alternatives but was set for an afternoon’s entertainment.
This day started like many that I have experienced since, with my ticket falling by the wayside in the first leg of the PA. Welcome to the disappointment that I have now tasted for the first time on my own.
Confidence was however still high and the most important bet of the afternoon was about to begin next, and I could not wait. In between races I listened to some music, one of my favourite pastimes back then.
The 1st leg of the Pick 6 was off and against all odds my runner came home and an interesting afternoon had begun.
My selections won the next three races as well and suddenly I was on the verge of winning the Jackpot and still running strongly in the P6.
By now the anticipation was at fever pitch as the next race now had a lot riding on it so I could not wait for the studio to cross and deliver the commentary.
They were off and never had I felt so excited about listening to a race as this one and it was end to end joy when my selection won again and it dawned on me that I had just won the Jackpot and only needed the next leg to win the Pick 6 as well.
By then I had managed to rope my mom into the excitement and told her that I was one leg away from winning the P6 and that she should listen to the next race with me.
I was both excited and extremely nervous as I was on the verge of doing the impossible, winning my very first Pick 6 and that with only a one rand bet. The horse unbelievably came home and both my mom and I were in tears at the joyous event of winning this bet.
But the excitement was about to get a lot more as I did not know where to find out what I had won.
I spoke to numerous people and even though they were equally clueless about where I could get the information I was told that it would be thousands as this bet always paid well.
Needless to say I had ideas of cars and holiday trips and the win unlocked so many dreams that I had never given much consideration before.
What I did know was that the newspapers published this information at the time and that the Sunday paper used to come out late in the evening on Saturday nights. The time was dragging but the excitement grew as the time approached to go find the paper.
I finally managed to get the paper and we raced home to go have a look. When I found the results it ended up being an anti-climax because the expectation was built so high and the ultimate dividend was so far from what I had hoped for.
The Jackpot paid a dividend of eighty something rand and the Pick 6 a paltry R792. This was a great return on a R1 bet and it was a lot of money those days but because of my utterly unrealistic expectations it was a big disappointment.
The disappointment was soon behind me as I realised that I had managed to do something that my friend had only dreamt about for a long time. He was so excited for me and told me that very few smaller punters have won the Pick 6, and especially with a one rand bet.
My love-hate relationship with racing had begun.
Over the following years I won; a few fractional Pick 6’s, many jackpots, and a whole lot of place accumulators. I never won really big money but have always absolutely loved the thrill of having a runner and a ticket and the progression from leg to leg and excitement that occur on a good day.
This was a very long introduction but really necessary as the above is what racing should be about – the excitement and joy of taking part and the occasional rush of getting a return and hopefully a really good one at that.
Racing is at a crossroads today with so many challenges facing the sport and many of the woes because of greed and a lack of understanding of what makes for good entertainment.
Ever since my initial involvement in racing I have made it my business to try and understand the psyche of the punter, and people in general, which is why it is so interesting to read comments from those both within and outside of the sport.
It is fortunate to also have the extensive benefit of one’s own involvement and experiences over many years of participation in the greatest game that sadly almost no one under 40 knows much about.
This is tragic as our sport has incredible potential to create excitement and suspense and thrilling entertainment for all who take part.
People play the Lotto with almost zero chance of winning anything of note and in truth the Pick 6 is not that different for the ordinary player. Bets can be won but in most cases the excitement is reserved for but a few and disappointment a far more common experience for most.
This is not the way it should be, or have to be, as the Tote by virtue of pooled funds has the potential to offer racing in its most exciting and profitable brilliant best.
I note the efforts to convince people to do the right thing by appealing to them to support the tote in the interest of racing as the main source of funding of the sport. This is a genuinely valid argument and I share this sentiment – but also realise that people will support their own pockets first and foremost.
The tote must make itself relevant again to existing punters, but more importantly to new players that are out there, but need a convincing reason to take up racing as a hobby or alternative form of entertainment.
All exotic bets will benefit from a facelift to make it easier for people who take part to win and get more enjoyment from their involvement.
Having been in marketing for a large part of my life I recognise the dangers of changing existing products and have been the victim of a few unwanted changes myself, especially changes to the doubles and pick 3 with the ludicrous decision to have betting only in a minimum of two times and multiples thereof.
This has robbed me of my joy in playing these bets and I am very close to stopping further participation in these.
Some of my decent recent wins came from pick 3 perms with the real challenge and science being to choose the best leg to start and which combination of 3 offers the best value from a relative difficulty perspective.
I used to play fairly large perms once, going for tough races and outsiders, but now am forced to play it twice which makes the bet a lot less attractive. These are the sort of things that the tote has done out of desperation to boost turnover but that alienates the loyal supporters of the tote.
Let people choose their own spend, those that want to play more will and need no coaxing.
Our operators should put their efforts into making the tote an attractive option for mass participation and do everything in their power to make the tote platform a must support option from both an entertainment and dividend perspective.
In previous articles I mentioned the need for new products with particular emphasis on making it exciting and affordable to play and the need to have products that will ensure quality dividends to those taking part.
It was also mentioned that creating and rewarding skill was a much needed objective for long term growth in player and pool numbers and that new gaming formats are needed to address this very important aspect.
More and bigger winners on a regular basis will make it easier to convince people to support the tote and make racing more attractive to those that are yet to try it.
Very few people understand handicapping in its current format and even fewer have the will or the time to make sense of it.
People like Jay August, Karel Miedema and Charles Faull are experts that offer so much insight into this very interesting and unique aspect of racing but also highlight the difficulty that would prevent potential customers from getting started.
To compensate for this daunting challenge tote wagering games must be end to end fun and racing needs to be synonymous with value for money entertainment. This can be done and should be pursued.
The tote must, and can, provide a critical helping hand by introducing products that will be less punitive on players and that will guarantee more enjoyment, lower participation costs and better quality dividends than what we are currently subjected to.
Racing should be promoted as a game of skill but it is the enjoyment and fun of taking part that will motivate people to learn more and spend more time and money in the pursuit of that all – important knowledge.
Make it as much fun as possible and people will try it and return regularly which is a must if pools and player numbers are to grow.
Only once entertainment supportive exotic game formats are introduced will racing, and in particular the tote, reap the benefits of a more aspirational offering and a growing customer base that has virtually unlimited potential with a more focused and customer centric approach.
The revival and revitalisation of the tote is the most critical aspect of racing’s future and all of us should support efforts to make the tote more modern, attractive and successful.
How much are operators willing to do to make the tote the platform of choice again and an exciting new destination, offering unparalleled value for money entertainment, to people new to the game?
Building new markets and large scale new interest in racing cannot happen without a fundamentally new entertainment offering, or offerings, from the tote.
