"What can we do for racing" ??

Thanks for replying both on an off the site

With my visit to PE last week it made me aware of how many people rely on the racing industry for employment and its essential to try and keep our act together

Good punting

Truthsayer wrote: The question is what can we do for racing? The answer answer is that we are already doing everything we can for racing. Any change has to come from those who run, control and administer horse racing. History has shown that no matter our good intentions, if they do not align with those who run and administer horse racing, we will get nowhere. Taking a leaf out of the WW1 propoganda books, I believe that the credo of those who run and administer horse racing is not "what we can do for racing?" but "what can racing do for us?".

.....too true....naively I even went as far as applying for Clyde Basel's old job as Racing Manager at the RA to become Larry's left hand man.....was amused at the set up at the Whitehouse when I was interviewed there..... with Vee's wife at reception and Clyde's wife also being on the premises.....and was not surprised when I was so professionally informed that no suitable candidates could be found for the position....as the next applicants by far more suited but related to the current family were/are still busy completing high school.....it is a closed shop....and rightly so....no outsiders allowed in to find out what family skeletons are left in the closets..... :blink:

Let me start off by saying that I have a small bet now and again, online ( on the Tabgold website ), at my local tote and lastly at my local track ( Greyville or Scotsville ). I am first and foremost someone who enjoys watching a racehorse run...here are my thoughts/observations/ideas/recommendations...

With regards to my local tote....simply put- the premises, staff, atmosphere and location are all unappealing. If it were a shop in a shopping center it would have shut down long ago. It is not at all conducive to getting new punters into doing business there.

With regards to the tracks...I know it is an old story but selling beautiful Clairwood was a mistake. I am not attempting to rehash this story but when one sees how visually unappealing Greyville is, complete with it's grey drabness and run down facilities, one wonders why on earth anybody who has never visited a racetrack would want to visit Greyville.

With regards to the facilities themselves at the tracks...shocking does not even begin to describe it...I have never taken a guest to the races and cringe when I take my family....examples of what could be bettered...at Greyville itself I have witnessed sliding doors leading onto the outside seats not opening and window panes cracked ( this was during Champions Season...the so called height of our racing calendar )...I have had to walk around and search for a waitress to take our drinks order....the selection of drinks available was nowhere near what the competition offers...no condiments on the table....the quality/cost of food was questionable....the attitude of the staff was deplorable...very few Tote tellers open inside the Members Lounge....grown men effing and blinding at the top of their voices...dress codes / smoking rules being blissfully disregarded as 'security' looks on...at Scotsville recently my daughter asked for a sandwich or plate of chips. None could be found...

With regards to customer loyalty....why should I go to grubby Greyville when I can go to a nice comfy movie house ( where I can get points on my loyalty card ) or to a nice clean casino where....guess what ?....they also have loyalty cards !!!

With regards to the simple appeal that a racehorse has.....why oh why do the horses not parade past the stands at Greyville when they have long races ???? People come to the races to see horses....plain and simple....

With regards to racing surface....believe it or not, people go to the races to see horses run on grass....so please GC, enough of this poly stuff...

I do feel that in GC's case far too much emphasis is placed on Champions Season....they go all out to impress for a few months of the year...make enough money in that time to just keep their heads above water and give themselves a pat on the back but then spend the rest of the year ignoring the simple rules which in this case are.....

When it comes to racing....the horse and the customer ( punter ) always come first....

Thank-you Dave.

Phumelela is facing a huge challenge as far as racing is concerned. Everyone who loves racing expects them to pour money into the sport but how is it justified when local racing does the least of all divisions as far as the bottom line contribution?

Being a listed entity with a responsibility to be profitable and an obligation to shareholders is it any wonder that racing cannot demand a bigger slice of the budget allocation given its failure to produce the goods and the drag effect on overall results.

Racing will not see a significant effort from operators until it can show economic value and an ability to be at least self sustainable, rather than a heavily subsidised activity as it is at present.

This is the unfortunate reality facing racing and the only possibility for change will come from spending clever money on racing rather than enormous amounts with little likelihood of success.

Small dedicated projects can succeed where unfocused general efforts have failed in the past. Target play rather than attendance with efforts aimed at making involvement more fun and entertaining. Less punitive product formats are needed to create more interest and a more rewarding experience for new players until they have learnt the ropes.

Skill should be the ultimate goal as experienced players seldom leave the game and since there is a positive relationship between skill and frequency and size of involvement.

Once a project yields positive results racing will get more support from operators and the vicious circle we are seeing at the moment could be reversed.

There is no quick fix but racing needs to prove that it is still relevant and that it deserves a bigger slice of the pie.

LSU wrote: Phumelela is facing a huge challenge as far as racing is concerned. Everyone who loves racing expects them to pour money into the sport but how is it justified when local racing does the least of all divisions as far as the bottom line contribution?

That's the worst statement that could be made. Everything they do earn, however profitable, is on the back of the racing game, which they practically got for free.

They keep the profit they make, ALL the stakes comes from the game, from punters or sponsors, so your pitch is pathetic and what's worse is that it represents what those hi-jackers actually think.

In every country in the world totes and lottos are licenced out by governments, because they cannot lose and they make money on turnover. And that is why their "fight" against the bookmakers is fake to it's core.

Here is a prediction, if the corporation you put in charge of your sport loves money and doesn't particularly love that sport, it can only end one way, because you have to make sacrifices sometimes and no one makes sacrifices if they don't care what sport it is as long as it's profitable.

Thanks MT and well put but unfortunately an over simplification of the world wide problem facing racing.

There are very few places in the world where racing is thriving as totes might have a low risk take out model but the escalation in the annual costs of putting on the show far exceeds the "net growth" in take out.

In most racing models there is a subsidy in place to keep the wheels turning be it a casino licence, sports betting or keno/lotto so to suggest that the take out from racing can cure the disease is naive. Equally naive is having a business and pouring everything you make into the least profitable part of that business.

Does this mean that I am happy with what P is doing? No, not at all. We know that service is lacking in many areas and that a finger can rightfully be pointed at management for a number of existing issues. But it helps to have a realistic outlook on the severity of the problem and the reasons for the non-performance on the part of operators.

Being critical without offering a solution is easy but equally pointless as we all want to see racing succeeding and won't unless we address the problem with an understanding of all the challenges.

As long as money drives the show it will determine how funds will be allocated and trust me racing will not be first in line unless it proves more resilient.

Cheers LSU and thanks

What i was actually suggesting was, that "real" racing folk should get together to eliminate many smaller issues, and stop all these mini wars and politics that are going on daily in the racing game.


As they say you cant eat an elephant with one bite.

However thanks again to all for contibtions and input .

Now where is that cup of tea?

Thanks Dave and I get where you are coming from and salute your efforts.

The small things are symptoms of the bigger problem which is that operators have lost their belief in racing.

It can only be restored if racing can prove that it still has growth potential and that is so hard when those entrusted to look after the sport has put the brakes on promoting the game.

The smallest gains in this department could trigger the momentum that is required to take the sport forward. Racing customers will only see a real improvement in service when the operator sees a buck from it.

The process needs a kick start and we can just hope that someone in the organisation with a racing pedigree will see the light and get things started.

Mac wrote: Phum needs to start doing something about the very bad customer service. That is the reason why punters asked the open-bet bookies to establish the open-bet not the other way around. But Phum is so obsessive about trying to bring down the open-bet bookies that they have lost the plot on customer service. They will end up like the obsessive Captain Ahab, strapped to Moby with his own harpoon tack.

By fobbing off winning customers with vouchers is tantamount to vomit.

By closing off distribution to competitor formguides is childish.

It all starts with Phum.

Shafting racing from Zim - shame on Phum

Not wishing to sound mischevious but this topic reads a little like an appeal to save compact cassette tapes, cds, betamax or citizen band radio.........

Horse racing should be compared with other gambling entities such as casinos, lotto, sports betting etc. All these gambling companies are experiencing a decline in turnover. If these companies adopt the sigmoid curve business model and with proper research they will find solutions to reinvigorate their product.

There is a company listed on the JSE which has one of the highest share prices. They sell a controversial product that is even more difficult to market than horse racing, yet their products are constantly evolving based on the sigmoid curve business model. This company is operating for over 100 years. Their philosophy is customer is King and the customer should get he/she wants in the product.

Horse racing is a fantastic product but poorly marketed. I believe there is huge potential for thousands of existing punters from sports betting to easily migrate to horse racing if Phumelela go to Tote's and bookies educate these punters on horse racing. Constantly at the Tote guys who punt on soccer ask me how do I pick a horse to punt, my reply to them it's too difficult to explain.
Why are the race tracks in Mauritius, Singapore & Hong Kong packed with punters?

nothing