Before and after pictures don’t get much more dramatic than those of racecourses. When racing was the only game in town, it was standing room only. Now? Well, let’s just say that racecourse attendance with Covid restrictions isn’t significantly different than without.
And racing’s Jurassic digital platforms weren’t ready for delivering the experience – or, more importantly, selling bets – online.
Oscar Foulkes writes in the Sporting Post Mailbag that when the Zoom era came, racing wasn’t even close to being able to make that pivot.
But, for those of us in the sport, the flame burns as bright as ever. It is a multi-dimensional experience that delivers the highest of highs.
Racing in South Africa came very close to being extinguished last year when Phumelela came crashing down. We are all enormously grateful to MOD (or is that SuperMOD?) for saving the day.
The regulatory processes that will finally see 4Racing taking over key assets, and ultimately becoming the key racing operator, seem to have been slower than Neil Andrews’ hot tips on a Tuesday at the Vaal.
Slow it may have been, but there are steady hands on the reins, and a volume of brainpower that would not be out of place at a TED conference.
Positive changes will come. The racing product will improve. However, it will take time before all of this translates into greater cash flows to be shared throughout the value chain.
We have a partial proof of concept.
Cape Racing had the benefit of being a legal entity separate to Phumelela.
It was quickly able to implement a bunch of visible short-term fixes, knowing of course that this was just the beginning, and that Covid restrictions put a limit on what could be effected. Racing’s recovery is going to be work-in-progress for some time.
To the list of ‘fixes’ I’d like to add fractional racehorse ownership.
It’s not going to immediately remedy the big problems, but it has the potential of getting feet onto racecourses, and eyeballs onto screens.
The rationale is simple: a horse in a syndicate is guaranteed to have more people watching than another owned by just one person. And it provides a point of engagement for people who may not have a ‘racing history’.
Of course, there are many precedents from around the world. Large-scale syndication is a feature of the booming Australian racing industry. The 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic, has over 5300 people in his ownership structure.
I know from personal experience that owning a small share of a horse doesn’t diminish the excitement when it wins. All that’s divided is the cost of owning that horse.
It costs roughly R15 000 per month for a horse’s training fees, veterinary bills and transport. Few people have that amount spare for even one horse, let alone a dozen or more. But many more people can spare R750 per month from their entertainment budget. That’s a 5% share of a horse.
Since 2018, I’ve been operating syndicates in which people have as little as a 1% share. Their ownership is driven by the amount they can afford on a monthly basis. The people in these syndicates – for the most part – are regular folk.
They wouldn’t normally be in the running to own racehorses, but by virtue of being able to own a smaller share they can get into the winner’s circle-type pictures where one would normally find only the very wealthy.
Who would have thought that the lead rein held by smiling owners could be this democratic?
Somewhere in the depths of YouTube is a video of Prof Brian Kantor talking about the economics of racing. To paraphrase, he said that in racing we “have to pay for the horse”.
Fractional ownership is a way of crowdfunding that expense.
Of course, whether the racehorse is owned by 20 people in a fractional syndicate, or by a captain of industry, it’s all a lot more appealing when stakes are higher. There is a limit to how long stakes can remain at current levels.
There is another angle to ‘the horse’, though. Having the horse at the centre of the sport is part of our competitive advantage. It’s the magic on which our passion is based. One doesn’t have to own the horse to feel that excitement, but it does help.
Similarly, while it helps to win big races, being first across the line in a Maiden Plate is also exciting. Racehorse ownership is not a financial investment.
All we ever promise is entertainment, which the Normandy Racing syndicates have been able to deliver. The only non-winner we’ve raced was sold to Mauritius when he was on the point of winning.
Make no mistake, I’d very much like to win the Met, or L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, or Vodacom Durban July, but delivering the racehorse ownership experience on the basis of winning a Maiden Plate is not an also-ran option. A win is a win.
For a sport lover, owning racehorses is a bit like owning the football team. It’s not just the time taken to run the race, there are the months of anticipation and preparation, the twists and turns, ups and downs. Fractional owners share in that journey as if they are the sole owner.
For the most part, the horses that have gone into the Normandy Racing syndicates have been Normandy-bred. They come from the same bloodlines and paddocks as Rio Querari, Mother Russia, Winter Solstice, Sergeant Hardy, and many other Grade I winners bred over the past 50 years. Having a direct relationship with the stud is an added layer to the experience of fractional ownership.
Sergeant Hardy
Across the industry, there are many touchpoints where customer experience can be influenced. Some of these – like the operation of the Tote – are outside the ambit of most industry insiders.
However, if every one of us does our bit to deliver a great racing experience within our own spheres of influence, we’ll be helping the cause.
My personal commitment is to breed the fastest, soundest racehorses we can. At best, we hope for the champions that will excite racing’s fans. At worst, they should be good “servants of the Tote” – as I once described a horse in which I had a share.
Read more about the Servant of the Tote – click here
A related aim is to make racehorse ownership accessible to people who might not otherwise have had the opportunity.
It may be the Sport of Kings, but you don’t have to be a king to participate, and racing is all the better for it.
- The views expressed by the writer in letters to the Sporting Post Mailbag are not necessarily those of the Sporting Post. Feel free to have your say – write to [email protected]
