Racing South Africa comments on Simon Burgess’ post ‘Taking the Mountain to Mohammed’
Your idea is certainly shared by the South African Equine Trade Council, t/a “Racing South Africa”. Beyond its core objective of growing exports, this government and industry backed organization has been promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) ever since it was registered in 2001.
You might recall Racing South Africa’s early marketing spiel created under the Chairmanship of Mick Goss, “First World Horses, Third World Prices!”, which still holds true today. Despite a very limited annual budget and not always enjoying the support of the greater industry at large, Racing South Africa and its predecessors, have embarked on numerous international trade missions over the years, from the first main event held at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket to appeal for European support for the fledgling export protocol to its annual promotion in Hong Kong.
In between, Racing South Africa hosted the hugely popular South African Raceday at the Rowley Mile Racecourse in Newmarket for a number of years as well as events at Windsor Racecourse and the Curragh Racecourse. There were similar initiatives in other parts of the world, in particular Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Singapore, Malaysia and Korea amongst other countries visited. Syndication was also promoted by Grant Knowles when working for Bloodstock South Africa and there have also been a number of reasonably successful privately run initiatives such as David Allan’s International Syndicates. Another integral part of attracting FDI is through the Inward Buying Mission scheme offered by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI).
Without denying the massive impact of Mike de Kock’s international successes and other internationally based trainers like Herman Brown (Jnr), Tony Millard, David Ferraris and Pat Shaw who have encouraged their clients to invest and race locally despite the onerous quarantine restrictions, the continued promotion of South Africa as a racing & breeding destination and our bloodstock by Racing South Africa has certainly contributed to the current level of foreign investment witnessed today. This is borne out by the results of a recent analysis of foreign direct investment under the following categories for the period 1 January 2012 to date (values rounded):
- Auction Sales – R66 million
- Other (private purchase and goods + services) – R150 million
- Exports (estimated values – excluding services related to export) – R138 million (R110 million) (thoroughbreds) + R67 million (non-thoroughbreds) = R205 million (R167 million)
NOTE: there will be some (limited in my opinion – perhaps 20%) duplication between exports and previous investments made (thoroughbreds only) – the true reflection of exports in brackets
- TOTAL: R383 million
This excludes the major foreign investment in acquiring, developing and stocking stud farms made by some of the leading operations of today, notably Maine Chance Farms, The Dubai Royal Family, La Plaisance and the multitude of individuals from all over the world whose collective contribution to the industry has been of such enormous value over the years. We can only hope that South Africa achieves a breakthrough in export protocols to deliver the rewards they so justly deserve.
Within its scope of influence, Racing South Africa is committed to continue making South Africa “the racing destination” of choice, so the lifting of the ban on live streaming of our racing is a major step in the right direction.
Peter Gibson – Acting CEO Racing South Africa
