Western Cape trainers have hit back at suggestions that they are swamping their Port Elizabeth counterparts with their better class horses and so providing unfair competition.
The Sporting Post website led on Saturday with a piece headlined “Should PE Be Closed To Cape Town Raiders” and cited an unnamed local trainer commenting on Facebook:
“What’s on my mind? They don’t run their horses in Cape Town yet they come to PE by the truckload and steal honey from our pot.
“Just have a look at the PE nominations. My argument is that they race four-horse fields in Cape Town – they don’t run their horses but will send three trucks to PE.”
Cape Town trainers have increased their raiding parties since the Met, largely because there is an average of only one meeting a week in the mother city during February and March, but last Friday’s Fairview fixture was the final straw for the Facebook writer.
Justin Snaith and Candice Bass-Robinson each had two winners and Vaughan Marshall one. Alan Greeff (3) and Jacques Strydom were the only locals to get a look in.
However, Bass-Robinson hit back at the criticism, saying: “In the UK and in Australia trainers travel their horses all over the place. Indeed they do this in countries round the world so why should we be confined to our own back yard? In any case a little bit of competition is healthy.
“Also it’s not just a matter of putting a horse on a float. It costs R6,000 just for the transport of the horse and then there is the flight for the assistant trainer.”
Justin Snaith fully agreed and pointed to the positive effect Cape Town runners have on Fairview Tote turnover. But the Facebook writer will no doubt be tempted to add further comment by the nominations for two of this Saturday’s Durbanville races.
The Fillies Maiden Juvenile had just six entries and the Fillies Maiden only nine. The National Racing Bureau warned that these races would be cancelled if the numbers declared fell below six and eight respectively, but both survived.– Gold Circle
IMHO the best way to sort this out is that in the lower merit rated races and maidens, the first horse's eliminated are the visitors. It happens here in the lower mr races. It is then up to the PE trainers to fill the fields and if they don't do that then the visitors are included. Higher rated races and features it is open play. If you have supported PE racing as an owner or trainer for years, I believe that in those races you should have preference.
Its called protectionism
Its what Pick and Pay and Checkers complained about when Massmart wanted to sell foodstuff in
the shopping centres
It is great to have a monopoly in any business
What the problem is that Cape Town that has 300 plus empty stables does not programme for
the lower MR horses as it does not suit the BIG stables who receive 50 plus well bred
2YO each year
The result is that a huge number of discards move to PE or Kim
Without these horses PE will also have problems filling fields
Elmer, it is about keeping smaller trainers and owners( racing too) in PE. Take those away and you will have no racing. You need that base of smaller trainers and owners otherwise you will have the same as Cape Town. I believe you have to support and be loyal to the people who have been loyal and supported you for years. If PE trainers/owners don't fill the races then it is their problem and then fields are filled with CT runner's.
In essence Craig is correct, in terms of the looking after Owners in a Province, etc etc.
However, I cannot agree with local runners getting preference. In fact, Racing will continue to struggle, should we NOT remove these restrictions and guarantees to local runners, wherever they already exist , imho. These must be removed, Countrywide.
Firstly, we must urgently remove the whole "smaller Owner " line of thinking from Racing. We should value each and every Owner equally.
Secondly, why are we now wanting to protect one group of Owners, against another ? This is nonsense. Every Owner should have an equal right to race his/her horse anywhere in SA, under the same rules and the same conditions. We have a National handicapping system in SA. If the horse qualifies to run, in any race in SA, it must be allowed to run, no matter where the horse is based.
Thirdly, if we really are so concerned about Owners (and we too easily forget the Punters who create the turnovers which pay the Stakes), we should treat them all as our very valued Customers and find out from them what we can do for them, which will guide us, as we make every effort to retain and grow their support.
One thing that Racing does specialise in, is that a handful of people believe that only they know what's good for Racing and that everyone else is wrong or clueless and that they will continue to do things as they see fit. Everyone else must just fit in. This continues whilst turnovers continue to decline, year on year....
Only big changes, which includes listening to our Customers, will get us back on track again.
Protecting a few lower rated horses in a Province is not one of those big changes.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Dave Scott, Muhtiman, Garrick, claire
Louis, we have argued this before. I believe in loyalty to the people who have supported PE racing ( or anywhere ) before people who are just coming for a few days and leaving again. You and others are obviously entitled to your opinions.Maybe they must sort the program out in CT then or put a polytrack in so they dont lose races over winter. Mark my words, allowing absolutely no restrictions in PE will kill off the smaller trainers there and smaller owner( this is not a derogatory term) just talking about the guy who can buy a 25% share for R20k for the love of the game say and then has these bombs from CT some costing in their millions to contend with. Leave the crumbs to the locals I believe.
1)We have had this argument before, a few years ago. So, KZN Trainers have gone along with your lines of thinking and where are we now, a few years later, since we decided to protect the lower rated horses of our loyal Owners ? How many runners are we giving the Operators in our C division and higher races ? Basically, the lower end horses are what 95 percent of our Racing has no option but to cater for, in KZN. Another Region that protects local runners, is Kimberley. Where has that taken them and their quality, over the last 6 years?
2)Gauteng horses raid KZN at will, now, with huge success. They are raiding us, like they raided Bloem, years ago...in spite of our "loyalty" rules. Last week we lost a maiden race at time of Acceptances, as it only had 7 runners declared. 5 of the 7 acceptors were from Gauteng. We , "the protected" could only muster 2 runners...!?
3)Since mediocrity has been protected through "loyalty" down here, we now have very few top class horses in the Province.
WHY ?
4)Very few KZN horses will make the big ones this Season. And very few of those , again, will be competitive in those races in which they make the fields.
WHY ?
5)Because when u reward mediocrity, that is what u will have. THATS WHY !
When one considers the History of KZN Racing and the many many great horses that were Trained and Raced here over the years, what we have now is far removed from those glory days.
We still have the Theatre of Champions. We still have the Greatest Race in SA. We still have, by far, the two most beautiful Training centers in the Country. So, we cannot blame the Operator. We can only blame ourselves. We cannot afford to keep bad horses, at the expense of the Owners. We need to work much harder, in our quest to find better quality horses and to regain the respect that was once part and parcel of Racing down here.
Those are the facts. We need to face them and we need to put big efforts into priority number 1, which is finding quality stock.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Dave Scott, Muhtiman, Garrick, Sharky, Over the Air
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