For those fatalists preaching that horseracing is a dying game, some fuel would have been provided by the sponsors at Scottsville, where the Baker & Baker Undertakers Maiden Plate closed the eight race programme.
The changing landscape of betting in South Africa and a reflection of the mindset of the people who run horseracing, was reflected quite coarsely Sunday morning on the home page of the Tabgold website
Racing made a welcome return to Clairwood on Sunday 18 March after an enforced break at the South Durban track following the controversially abandoned meeting
What a day for owner Knut Haug, trainer Dennis Drier and jockey Alec Forbes. The Sharks combination teamed up to spoil the Stormers New Years party with a sweetly taken treble at Kenilworth on the Cape’s very own ‘Tweede Nuwe Jaar’ celebrations. Unhappily for local breeders, all three of the Drier winners are imports!
High jinks at the start of the Clairwood third race marred an otherwise pleasant afternoon’s racing on 20 December. It is not the starter’s job
A great winning double for Winning Form’s Duncan Howells and a doughnut for the starter. These were the highs and lows of an entertaining but frustrating afternoon at Clairwood on 18 September.
A potentially fatal mistake at the start of the seventh race at Clairwood on 25 August cast a dark cloud over an otherwise entertaining afternoon. Once again the punters and connections suffered as the umpteenth communication meltdown of this year happened as predictably as all the others…
The grandstand jockeys who punted Made Of Steel would have been cursing MJ Byleveld about 200m from home in the first leg of the Pick
The official report states that an investigation has been opened into the circumstances which led to Babelicious (A Fortune), which paraded and proceeded to the start in red earmuffs, racing without blinkers, as carded
Just 48 hours after Cheeky Wink’s smart win at Tipperary, the Kieswetter and Heffer families enjoyed another champagne moment at Sandown
Ridgemont’s Rafeef fairytale received more endorsement on the Championships Finale at Turffontein on Saturday when his daughter, Chasing Happiness, ran her eight opponents off their feet to register her second stakes success when winning the TAB Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes
The number of entries compares favourably in quantum with recent years, with 58 first entries received in 2024, 60 in 2023, 68 in 2022, 53 in 2021, 52 in 2020, 49 in 2019, and 69 in 2018
