More racing from Abroad

SOUTH AFRICAN horseplayers will be able to bet on Italian racing for the first time this Sunday 19 December. All races on which TAB operates pools will be screened live on horseracing’s exclusive TV channel Tellytrack.

The addition of Italian races to the rich menu of international racing offered to TAB customers in this country flows from a contract concluded earlier this year between Italian racing and breeding authority Unire and Phumelela Gold Enterprises (PGE), the joint venture between South African horseracing and tote betting operators Phumelela and Gold Circle.

In terms of the contract some 100 Italian race meetings will be shown live in this country annually and the launch this Sunday will be a landmark occasion for Unire. It will be the first time that Italian races have been made available to another country for betting purposes. The contract also incorporates the continued export of South African races to Italy.

Rian du Plessis, Group CEO of Phumelela, paid tribute to the Secretary General of Unire, Dr Ricardo Accai, for advancing the cause of Italian racing. “Obviously we are honoured to be the first country to import Italian racing. We have no doubt that it will be popular with our horseracing fans and will significantly enhance our product line-up.

“This is very much a reciprocal deal between the two countries and I believe it will strengthen our excellent relationship and lead to more mutually beneficial deals into the future,” he added.

Earlier this year Italian champion jockey Umberto Rispoli participated in the International Jockeys Challenge in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Rispoli rode a winner in the second leg of the Challenge.

See Italian fields in Form Focus in The Citizen on Saturday.

Didn`t know they had racing in Italy ()

Nothing wrong with showing the top meetings,will be like the blind leading the blind again!

What do you say Magic? If it replaces Ngong I am ok, but both on a Sunday

racing is meant to be a game of skill...with very little in the way of detailed form guides, expert opinion ,advice or guidance ,a lack of a betting market in some instances ,no canter past how much chance has the punter got in cart racing and racing overseas bar maybe england...is betting on these countries without the aforementioned help really responsible gambling which phumgold advertise that they promote...its a fcuking disgrace and should be reported to the relevant authorities

scotia Wrote:

---

> What do you say Magic? If it replaces Ngong I am
> ok, but both on a Sunday

As long as it's real racing and not trotting, it's leagues ahead of Ngong. Mind you, what isn't? Obviously this is midwinter in Europe and Italian racing is low key for the next few months, but they still race in Rome through the winter (although Milan shuts down). I'd better warn you now, though, that some of their smaller courses make Champ de Mars look like a wide open galloping track. There is a sand track which is just 800m around, which is less than a trotting track....not surprisingly, the fields there are small.

At least with Italy I have some idea of who's who in the pecking order of trainers and jockeys. I'll do what I can to pass on any morsels of info that I have when the time comes - but you're on your own if they show that wheelie bin cr@p.

pirates Wrote:

---

> racing is meant to be a game of skill...with very
> little in the way of detailed form guides, expert
> opinion ,advice or guidance ,a lack of a betting
> market in some instances ,no canter past how much
> chance has the punter got in cart racing and
> racing overseas bar maybe england...is betting on
> these countries without the aforementioned help
> really responsible gambling which phumgold
> advertise that they promote...its a fcuking
> disgrace and should be reported to the relevant
> authorities

I have to agree with you, all these racing centers being pressed on the same channel. perhaps they should first have two racing channels (old i knw): one for the mugs willing to gamble on anything that runs and a proper racing channel.

Ascot just been called off(td)

That got off to a good start. The first meeting abandoned due to ice. Weather cancellations are rare in Italy (a strike is much more likely to be the cause!), which maybe tells us more about the bloody awful winter Europe is having. I know yesterday's Deauville meeting was called off after one race because of heavy snow. I don't say this because I don't like steeplechasing, but there must be a risk they can's run the King George next week?

Back to the Italian thing. You missed even less than you might think. I'd put Livorno fairly and squarely in the goat track category, although it is a goat track that comes fitted with lights. You know what the means. Yep, evening racing from Italy and no SA replays until even the hookers have gone home.

magiclips Wrote:

---

> scotia Wrote:
>

---

>

---

> > What do you say Magic? If it replaces Ngong I
> am
> > ok, but both on a Sunday
>
> As long as it's real racing and not trotting, it's
> leagues ahead of Ngong. Mind you, what isn't?
> Obviously this is midwinter in Europe and Italian
> racing is low key for the next few months, but
> they still race in Rome through the winter
> (although Milan shuts down). I'd better warn you
> now, though, that some of their smaller courses
> make Champ de Mars look like a wide open galloping
> track. There is a sand track which is just 800m
> around, which is less than a trotting track....not
> surprisingly, the fields there are small.
>
> At least with Italy I have some idea of who's who
> in the pecking order of trainers and jockeys.
> I'll do what I can to pass on any morsels of info
> that I have when the time comes - but you're on
> your own if they show that wheelie bin cr@p.
(td) Pirates racing is a GAME OF SKILL - in a case like this the skill needed is akin to that of a F1 driver - Avoid the obstacle placed in the road(Foreign racing) - People like you and I will show our skill and concern for our hard earned cash by not spending a cent on this rubbish - I do this with Harness racing and Ngong etc - Anyone that does their cash on this crap deserves to lose - I will not waste a cent of my money on garbled junk that is forced down my throat while local racing barely gets the airtime it deserves. It is a disgrace and the Gambling board should look into the constant release of inferior products designed to create a slot machine punter. It is noble of Mathew wanting to help out with form but to the guy in the tote it's just another horror that will eat into his stake and create profits for Phumelela

I never exactly said I know the form. A few bits and pieces, that's it. I have half an idea of who the better jockeys and some of the better trainers are, and which racecourses are galloping tracks and which are like trotting tracks, but that's about it.

And you are in a better position than most Magic ... all I know about Italian racing is seeing the occasional Black Type entry in a sales book - And perhaps (I know I go too far here) the scene from the Godfather where the horse head is placed on a pillow as a warning by the Don? Let them keep it along with the free tab sheet and box of Turkish delights we are prsented with. Phumelela should worry about keeping home fires ablaze rather than constantly striking Foreign matches all over the place in the hope that a wide net will yield more FISH!

The Mafia has as much influence in the north of Italy as it does in Blikkiesfontein. The south is another matter....and don't even mention Siciliy. However, I agree that this overload of foreign racing is getting a bit much. I'd be happy if it replaced cart racing or Ngong, though. ()