Vaal sand track - who will carry the can?

It shows how used to mediocrity that we have become when last weeks changing of surfaces has effectively now become a non-issue a mere 5 days after the event. One of the regulars at the rooms and a well known owner has a few horses with a trainer at the Vaal. The stories that are being told about the course manager is beyond belief.

Allegations are that this guy is not doing a third of the required BASIC maintenance of the sand track. This basic maintenance which requires hours of preparation work before a meeting is simply not happening. The Vaal trainers have on a number of occasions expressed their concerns about this situation and in fact, have recently warned Phumelela that meetings would be lost if the required maintenance was not done. I am not a technical guy nor do I understand the methods used to prepare the track, but from what I am led to believe, the lack of preparation has led to a compaction of the sand which results in water damming up and thus not draining away. There are no short cuts and the hours and hours of preparation that are needed to prepare the track have not been done and this is the direct cause of the meeting being abandoned. Now let me say that perhaps my terminology is incorrect, but the fact remains that trainers at the Vaal are 100% blaming the track manager for the lost meeting. Perhaps Louisg can comment on the problems experienced in terms of the technical terms I can not. The differences in going at this track, fast one week, slow the next is also attributed to the poor and inconsistent maintenance methods.

To make matters worse, the relationship between the Vaal trainers and the track manager has soured to the extent that communication has become impossible between them. The owner says that his trainer says the course manager refuses to listen to advice or suggestions to improve the track. The racist card is thrown at the earliest convenience when it suits. The man is surly and often is not seen on track when he should be there. Complaints to Patrick Davis at Phumelela who apparently is responsible for this, has resulted in little changing. Clearly there is a massive problem here.

If I owned a sand horse I would be seething.

This goes to the basis of my continual bitching .................people employed by "P" are managed by "P"(not).

The industry has a management problem and as Meyer Kahn so eloquently put it "shit rolls downhill" :dry:

Said this weeks ago but less words

Shocking state they are in, Strydom said months ago live on tv that the sand track is a disgrace

The trainers are scared what might happen to them if the speak out
Phumelela are scared to remove a Bee employee ( according to some )

As a part owner in seven horses in training , I seriously question my loyalty and support to a industry that feels absolutely zilch towards the smaller owners and trainers . Accountability and responsibility is non existent and the silence from the powers to be is a big worrying factor .
Teletrack seldom shows parade ring or canter downs and will rather spend 15 minutes in a monologue conversation with regards to overseas racing and deprive the local owners the opportunity to view their horses before jump. It is impossible to be at the course every time and when you do attend , you rush your backside off to get in time for the race , just to see the jockeys on strike ( happened the last 2 times I visited the Vaal ) , tracks are swop and you know immediately your horse have no chance and another month or 2 have been lost.
I also thought the sand was to ensure racing do not loose race days and not the other way around.
F*&^% shocking state of affairs to say the least , do you think we will get a response from the White House , Phumelela, Jockey club , Tea girl , security guard , etc?? No f#$% chance.

ota you should know by now that there are plenty cowards and people with zero balls in this industry ..they are to scared to speak their minds and put their names next to it..you only have to read abc to see how many people view without posting and how many people post without giving their proper names....why should the operators change things, they can continue sweeping everything underneath that huge carpet of theirs...the industry is run like the old government whereby you had a job for life and nobody ever got fired...

Had a couple of calls from people that won't post and it would appear the new chap thinks he can walk on water?

Pity he could not walk over his own track last week!

Millions of Rands worth of horses (their well-being) ,the punters,one prick and all the spineless yellow bellied participants who dont want to rock the boat. Great combo ! We are deffinitely going backwards in a Rush !

Dave Scott wrote: Had a couple of calls from people that won't post and it would appear the new chap thinks he can walk on water?

Pity he could not walk over his own track last week!

Perhaps he should try walking on water cos chances are he can't swim!!

I got asked by the owner I was referring to here to please under no circumstances name him or the trainer. He received a call from his trainer yesterday to ask if it was him I was posting about. When he said yes the trainer was not happy. There are fears of reprisals as this has happened previously to people who oppose Phumelela. I was asked to please remove the post but reasoned that everyone had seen it already so it would have no impact should it be removed. I have promised to run things by the guy before posting something he tells me. Seems a rule by fear is in place!

Over the Air wrote: I got asked by the owner I was referring to here to please under no circumstances name him or the trainer. He received a call from his trainer yesterday to ask if it was him I was posting about. When he said yes the trainer was not happy. There are fears of reprisals as this has happened previously to people who oppose Phumelela. I was asked to please remove the post but reasoned that everyone had seen it already so it would have no impact should it be removed. I have promised to run things by the guy before posting something he tells me. Seems a rule by fear is in place!

how typical of people in this industry ...if they not prepared to grow a pair then they must accept the situation and move on..prevalent throughout the country

pirates.. Eviction !!!!

OTA - irrespective of who your source is, your post is 100% correct. And YES, I am the Trainer who walked out of the last tracks meeting, 3 weeks ago, after INSISTING that the sand course AND training tracks were not being maintained properly. And YES AGAIN, I guaranteed them that they would lose meetings

Most Vaal Trainers believe that we are being neglected in terms of management from Head Office. This neglect is described under the term "micro managed" by HO.We feel more like the BERMUDA TRIANGLE" than like the VAAL TRIANGLE. ....

However, since last week, a huge effort has gone in and work was even done on Sunday. We hope that everyone has learned from this and that we are back on" track" again