Lone Crusader. Phindi Kema may be barking up the right tree?
We don’t enjoy beating the same old drum day in and day out. But the monotony may well be the sharp knife in the back needed to get somebody to sit up and take notice. We are harping on about that lost race at Scottsville on Sunday 26 February and suggest it speaks of a bigger picture of confusion and customer apathy.
If information is power. And one assumes that power is pleasure. Then how does horseracing manage to maintain its customer base and keep the proverbial head above water?
We have read about lone crusader Phindi Kema’s valiant overtures to the Competition Commission regarding perceived monopolistic control of the tote and horseracing in South Africa. Ms Kema wants us rid of the ‘old boys club’ blocking the way for new entrants into the industry. Somebody should tell her she has more chance of winning the Lotto.
But maybe it is not the monopoly issue but rather an urgent need for the streamlining of the overcrowded spoons in the pot of pea soup that is the real problem. Too many chefs? It certainly looks like it to us. Nobody takes responsibility because they are all subconsciously hiding behind one another.
Who are the role players on an average day and where do their responsibilities begin and end?
The Gambling Board? Phumelela? Gold Circle? The National Horseracing Authority? Saftote? Phumelela Gold Enterprises? Tabgold? Tellytrack ? National Racing Bureau? The Racing Association? WPOTA,? And now there is a new entity caretaking the transition in the Western Cape too. It is not difficult understanding why nobody seems to ever do anything!
Short of a curt note in the official Stipes Report of the Scottsville meeting, we are still making our own deductions as regards the background of the lost race.
The NHRA report tells us that the race was apparently officially cancelled in terms of Rule 5.2.6, in that the number of starters required by the conditions of the race was not obtained.
Under rule 5.2 ‘GENERAL POWERS’ it is held that ‘in addition to any other powers and duties delegated or granted to them or provided in terms of the Rules, the ROR and, where such powers have been delegated to them by the ROR, the RMR shall have the following powers to enable them to fulfil their functions and duties’ . And specifically here , rule Rule 5.2.6 grants the authority to cancel a race if the number of starters required by the advertised conditions of the race not be obtained.
In terms of the definitions, the RMR is the Racing Operator Representative/s designated to officiate at a race meeting of the Racing Operator concerned. The ROR is a properly constituted body of the Racing Operator Representatives of the Racing Operator concerned .
We do know that:
- Five of the seven carded runners were withdrawn for various reasons from ‘Not Eating Up’ to ‘Sold Without Engagements.’
- The remaining two runners viz. Ice Axe and Mike’s Choice were shown as ‘withdrawn by Clerk Of Scales’ at 11h07 on the morning of the race.
- The operator has in the past ‘saved races’ by condoning multiple acceptances by individual trainers in smallish fields in the full knowledge that there is no intention to run all of that particular trainer’s horses.Did this little unwritten arrangement conspire to bite them in the butt on Sunday?
- No processes or guidance appear to have been in place to disseminate general and betting information. In other words, the rules provided for the eventuality, but nobody knew what to do when it actually came to pass.
The obvious economics of the ultimate decision to cancel the race are not in doubt. The R85 025 gross stake would have been a liability on the afternoon’s balance sheet with the loss of most of the individual bets beyond the exotics- which as we said yesterday were amazingly healthy at an approximate combined R2,5 million. In the absence of press releases or other information we would hazard a bet that there was no consensus on the final decision.
Old Story. Too many chefs...
We are also still owed an explanation for another unsavoury little matter. Last Saturday at Turffontein, trainer Ormonde Ferraris’ runner Markofdistinction was carded to race without alumites in the fourth race. Backed in from 6-1 to 3-1 , the Mogok filly won the Pick Six opener easing up – with alumites on. Or was it steels? Depends where you are looking for the reality. The ‘change’ was announced casually just preceeding the race and did not form part of the official dissemination.
Has anybody bothered to inform the public why, and more importantly what has been done to ensure it doesn’t happen again? The matter of shoes may be a triviality to most administrators. But to a punter it counts.
The only answer is one centralised racing information hub. Run by individuals who understand the importance of accuracy and of information overload. Till then we’ll carry on with the present circus. And our gourmet chefs.
