Draws will be made for all Cape Town non-features after acceptances – instead of at the entry stage as at present – with effect from the December 12 meeting, writes Michael Clower.
However the later draw method, although favoured by at least one of the top trainers, proved unpopular with many when tried previously and led to increased non-runners from those drawn wide.
The 12-day suspension for horses scratched will in future run from the date of the race, not the scratching.
The trainer runners per box clause will also be more closely monitored to ensure trainers produce a minimum of 90% of target.
Brett Crawford
Brett Crawford, a member of the programmes committee as well as the Cape trainers’ committee, explained: “The criteria is six runs per season per box. You have to achieve 90% of this and they will look at this quarterly rather than annually in future. We don’t yet know what the penalty will be for not achieving it.”
Crawford added: “These changes are going to have to work but whether they will I don’t know. Everybody blamed Durbanville for small fields but many of them are small at Kenilworth too.”
Both Kenilworth Racing and Phumelela warned in September that fixtures will be reduced, and/or stakes dropped in races of less than eight runners, if the 12-runner average is not achieved.
Eric Sands
However some Cape Town trainers are concerned that the proposals they made have not been accepted, in particular for more gallops to enable them to get horses ready. At the moment gallops at Kenilworth are only allowed for horses entered for Graded races and the weekly Durbanville gallops in practice alternate between horses trained at Milnerton and Phillipi.
Eric Sands, also a member of the programmes committee, said: “Small trainers are hardly ever in a position to gallop at Kenilworth. We suggested that they should be allocated a percentage.
“We also proposed that arrangements should be made allowing us all to gallop every week at Durbanville but this also fell on deaf ears.”
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