Are We Consistently Missing A Target Market?

I did something unusual yesterday afternoon - I spent the afternoon punting South African racing whilst waiting for Goodwood to start.

I usually avoid SA like the plague as, apart from some of the form reversals which I simply cannot fathom, I resent the fact that the betting usually hovers at around 132% for most of the period leading up to the off. So despite all the hot air that circulates about betting to 120% this seldom happens.

Race 7 at Kenilworth did, however, set me thinking...........

Here Jean Roi won in relatively facile style. What was remarkable was that only R 7,700 odd was traded on Interbet on this horse despite the fact that Tellytrack had advertised it quite extensively as Shaheen Shaw's top tip in the day/s leading up to the meeting.

Now I am not suggesting that Shaheen or any other tipster should be followed religiously but at 7/1 it was surely worth more attention than it attracted given its form and the jockey engaged. The ( beaten ) favourite traded at about R 140,000 whilst a lesser light much further down the boards attracted trades totalling approximately R 25,000. Then the penny dropped - clearly the vast majority of people who might benefit from these guides just never get to see them..........

And therein lies the rub. Tellytrack continues to communicate with those of us fortunate ( read : rich enough! ) to be connected whilst the majority of ( in particular ) tote punters rely on dog eared newspapers and what they are able to see in offcourse totes ( often with the sound off ) in the minutes leading up to the actual race.

If ever I saw a genuine transformation case and business opportunity then the dissemination of free, comprehensive racing information in 'free to air' format surely has to be it. At present it is piped almost exclusively to comparatively well heeled ( probably white ) viewers to the exclusion of a massive group of potential tote punters of all races.

As hair brained as it may sound this is my suggestion - There has to be a mountain of 'old generation' decoders out there. ( I have two sitting in my garage ). The operators could buy them and a whack of dishes in a job lot - it would cost a fraction of what they spend sending the usual parasitic suspects on the annual junket to Newmarket to 'promote' SA racing. Applicants who wanted to connect would have to submit used tote tickets ( easy to accumulate ) to the value of, say, R 1000 whereafter they would be given a decoder and a dish. There must surely be some way in which this kit could be used to connect to Tellytrack without being a full on DSTV subscriber. I know that for R20 pm odd you can already connect via dish to 1,2,3 & E so accessing Tellytrack should be a doddle.

Then start with some voice overs in languages other than English and I am prepared to wager that massive interest would be kindled.

Shucks, Garrick. Why did you sell your shares in Bluemambo ? Looks back to his best now.

Harris - I'm glad you are not my accountant! Two quick wins after a drought of near on two and a half years will do little expunge the 'red ink' next to this horse's name.

Best wishes to all those who have hung in. Hope he wins a couple more.

Shane Shaw copies my selections,wait until i speak to him..

if only the racing powers that be thought as logically as you Garrick!

I watch At the Races as it comes "free" with my Sky Suscription. The other horse racing channel is Racing UK for which one has to pay £20 a month for the privilege of viewing tracks such as Goodwood, Newmarket, Haydock, Salisbury, Catterick, Beverley and others. On principle alone I will rather just miss watching and getting the results on the internet. People are leaving horse racing in their droves and I am sure its likewise in SA. So Garricks suggestion is spot on but will the powers be do such a thing. . I remember the dingy totes from way back in the beginning of the 90s and friends, yes I do have them, tell me nothing has changed. Open Teletrack free to air as Garrick says and they will make more money as more and more people will watch and would also want to bet.

In the UK what doesnt make sense is the racegoers are flooding to the tracks in droves,record crowds.

Yet the stakes are falling all the time and the standard of racing is the poorest i have seen it in the 20 years i have been employed in the business,mostly due to the diluted fields to accomo(mostly due to betfair and bookies moving their business off shore)date the big four bookies..

Hibs when last did you look at the price of Diesel? Dont you think that that has a big part to play in. Trainers dont want to take 2 or three horses on a 300 mile round trip with the chances of not winning and even if they did, as you say stakes are down, they wont make enough to cover the expenses.

www.sportingpost.co.za/2011/05/13/frontp...etter-part-of-valor/

well said Lance.

www.sportingpost.co.za/2011/05/12/racing...t/wheres-the-thrill/