In a press release issued shortly after 11h00 on Saturday, Tellytrack state that they would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the failure to air the first half of the Hong Kong live racing and the Australian racing, earlier this morning.
The notice says that they confirm ‘that the problem was identified, and the appropriate corrective action taken.
We are sorry for the frustration and any inconvenience this may have caused’.
The Sporting Post raised the alarm after receiving numerous calls and emails from early morning from angry punters who were looking to enjoy the popular Sha Tin meeting as well as the last Gr1 of the Australian racing season. The Australian racing commenced at 03h55.
The loss of betting turnover is difficult to estimate but the Sporting Post is informed that the ‘falling asleep at the wheel moment’ is long overdue and the channel is an accident waiting to happen.
They have missed broadcasting international races at meetings over a period of time without accountability to a clearly out-of-touch management or to the racing public.
“It’s patently unprofessional and this never happened when it was run properly. You cannot have programming in place without a contingency plan for logistics. The person tasked slept in today. That can happen. But what happens if he was ill or he had an accident? This is a multi million rand industry managed by people who take salaries or simply don’t care. The fun times during office hours at the News Café across the road also need to be stopped immediately. It’s an unmanaged free-for-all and a disgrace to the industry and every punter, owner and breeder who puts 1 cent into it,” said the source.
Fun and games in office hours need to end today
It’s been a bad week for Tellytrack and the cracks are becoming gaping crevices.
Earlier this week leading Bloodstock Consultant John Freeman wrote in his eNews that he was disappointed to get a call from valued friends overseas on Saturday informing me that their “free-to-view on-line” Tellytrack access had been discontinued without notice – on a day that they had five runners carded.
“Its’ not as if they asked for a free service in the first place – they were subscribers. One of the fundamental flaws in our industry over recent years; talk to your customers, they don’t bite,” added Freeman.
He said that since that weekend he has chatted with many others who had the same experience.
“I was fortunately spared and was able to watch racing on my phone. Trying to sort out connection on a Saturday proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I was able to solve. My understanding was that the “powers-that-be” agreed last year to allow free Tellytrack on-line access to owners and those that keep the wheels of our much burdened industry turning, all over the world. NO WARNING of any change! Someone just decided to pull the plug on Saturday. My overseas friends couldn’t watch a single race because their access was denied. So I got a tech-savvy pal to help create and pay for a new account for them to be able to watch the races. That didn’t work – no response from Tellytrack. Maybe one has to give them prior warning?”
Dominic Zaki – calls for him to return to right the sinking ship
Posters and callers demanded the return of former Tellytrack staffer Dominic Zaki, who was unceremoniously dumped in 2020 after five years during which he proved a revelation.
When interviewed earlier this year Zaki said that during his tenure at the racing broadcaster, there was a focus on pushing betting turnovers.
“I think racing is an industry that requires folk with specific knowledge and a bent for going the extra mile – it’s not a job, it’s a vocation. If you don’t know the difference between a Pick 6 and a Jackpot, and are a clockwatcher, then you won’t make it in the drive and thrust of the racing broadcasting industry. It’s not fair for me to go into detail as there were many good folk in the system.”
He conceded at the time that he feels ‘heartbroken’ when he looks at what Tellytrack churns out today.
“Times are tough. There is no money. But that’s more reason to have the right people in the driving seats, surely? It just feels that everything has been destroyed. I get calls and know that many punters are disillusioned. Tellytrack is racing’s shop window and is vitally important. I hope we can drive a rethink on it,” he added.
