Cape Chief Stipendiary Steward Ernie Rodrigues is the man tasked with overseeing the policing of Saturday’s CTS Million Dollar – a race that includes his namesake, Ernie – who runs for the lifechanging prize in Africa’s richest ever race.
Ernie – major runner in the CTS Million Dollar
We asked Mr Rodrigues whether the Stipes would be handling the massive responsibility of ensuring fair play in this race, any differently, to a run-of -the -mill race:
“There is no doubt that, given the enormous prize money on offer, the jockeys will have heightened stess levels and even greater pressure riding on their shoulders. This can lead to different reactions and anxiety in different personalities and we will be briefing the riders before the race to stress the importance of adherence to our laid-down rules. That is done in the interests of safety, but they also need to understand that the impact of a bump, for example, could have major financial implications for the affected runner. Thus they must understand that the penalties arising from any disciplinary action will be that much more serious. I am happy to say that we have a top-class bunch of generally experienced jockeys riding.”
He confirmed that no additional personnel would be on duty.
