An IT related crisis hit the national totalisator on a forgettable day for South African racing on Saturday, where the Sansui Summer Cup was scheduled to take pride of place.
The racing gods may well initially have thought the rain had done them a dirty – with heavy downpours on Friday night and Saturday morning saturating the Turffontein Standside track, making the bend and the pullup areas treacherous.
Protracted discussions were held between officials, trainers and jockeys to try to save the Saturday meet, headlined by Johannesburg’s biggest horse race.
The inspection – by Mike and Mathew De Kock
Two horses were galloped from the 1400m mark to test the surface and several inspections of the turf were undertaken. Eventually a decision to postpone was taken shortly after 14h00.
In hindsight, maybe Mother Nature was being kind as had the Turffontein meeting gone ahead, what a disaster that could have been for tote turnover figures!
Black Friday became Black Saturday for thousands of Saftote punters with the Kenilworth third race showing ‘provisional’ and payouts on the first two races apparently reversed.
This naturally had a knock-on effect on Kenilworth Pick 6 and Jackpot turnovers, with the ‘field’ leg of the Summer Cup already a party spoiler for many.
With the horses already in the parade ring, trainers and jockeys were also forced to stand down for the Kenilworth fifth race, which was delayed to try and get the tote engine started in advance of the Jackpot.
The Sporting Post was contacted by punters requesting clarity on missing payouts and questions are naturally raised about the integrity of end dividends in a system that hardly encourages customer trust.
If Sunday racing is your game, the Summer Cup gets a second chance – without the bells and whistles. General access to Turffontein racecourse will be free on Sunday and food vendors and a beer garden will be available.
The Furious Room, City Deck and Elevation hospitality venues will operate as per a normal race day and patrons are welcome to buy tickets at the door.
All other hospitality venues will be closed.
All tote bets taken on Saturday on the Turffontein race meeting stand. Punters are advised to note jockey changes – particularly with the Greyville meeting running parallel with the Turffontein fixture.
At the Kenilworth Saturday meeting, where the Summer Cup was part of the programme for betting purposes, the field applied in exotics.
Click here – race times have been revised for Sunday.
Racing until 19h30 on a Sunday evening is not everybody’s cuppa tea.
What lessons can be learnt from today?
