As a punter and occasional small owner over the past forty odd years, I keep asking myself a question – where is Cape Town Racing going and what is Phumelela (or any other vested interest, for that matter), doing about it? So asks Philip Goldberg, in a letter to the Sporting Post mailbag.
I know the Summer of Champions season ends next Saturday 20 February, but surely there must be more horses in the Western Cape that could populate more than a 7 race programme such as that which we saw on Saturday?
This past week on Tuesday saw another 7 race card at Kenilworth with a total of 60 runners – that is an average of 8.5 runners per race!
For punters that is a turn-off. I can also just imagine how Vee Moodley is banging his head in frustration!
This just cannot be profitable for anyone involved and I am astonished that there is no public debate and sharing of minds to try and address the issues and the problems.
Maybe the bigger yards are sitting with too many horses and the smaller yards with too few? But how do we implement a balance – with legislation?
Personally, if I had a large stable, I would be running 3-5 horses in each race, aiming at earning as many stakes as possible.
Or is that me oversimplifying matters?
I am asking the Sporting Post, as the country’s only independent racing media, to please get a comment from Larry Wainstein, Clyde Basel and Rian Du Plessis – and even from a leading trainer or two down here.
Maybe the Cape is destined to become a boutique summer racing centre – with temp staff manning the stables and Kenilworth Racing run by a skeleton crew?
At least our top commentators Rouvaun Smit and Jehan Malherbe will have some time on their hands to go and do some training at Ngong. But oh my, that’s another story.
So many questions – so few answers.
Why are racing folk always so reticent to rock the boat and demand answers?
We are, after all, talking about executives earning big salaries to do a job.
