Starting gates open

THEY’RE OFF: RELIEF AS HORSERACING RESUMES ON MONDAY

Industry hopes this will enable retention of the 60 000 jobs in the sector.

Joy, relief and determination to save a sinking industry greeted the news that horse racing is to resume in South Africa from Monday. “We’re obviously very relieved and very happy,” said National Horseracing Authority (NHA) chief executive Vee Moodley, who led the lobbying of government to get the go-ahead to race again.

“We are mainly grateful for the opportunity to try to save 60 000 jobs in the industry – and to continue to provide for 750 000 dependants of those workers.

“And, of course, to stop the euthanising of these beautiful animals,” said Moodley.

With racing revenue badly hit by the two-month lockdown hiatus, many owners and trainers have been forced to reduce stable numbers by rehoming horses or, in extreme cases, euthanasia.

Despite the restart, racing remains in a financial squeeze, but Moodley noted: “With this resumption there is momentum towards returning the industry to good health.”

He said racing had been due to restart in Level 1 or 2 of the lockdown, but the NHA had explained to government that a resumption would simply be “formalising what we were doing at training centres” and emphasising the “noncontact sport aspect”.

The NHA announced on Thursday

that it had the go-ahead to race. No spectators will be allowed on racecourses – only a minimal number of essential staff, such as grooms, jockeys and veterinarians. Online and telephone betting will be conducted on the live televised action on DStv.

Former champion trainer Justin Snaith said from his Cape Town stables: “We’ve all been under huge pressure financially and the simple act of galloping horses competitively for prize money will have a massive beneficial ripple effect on many thousands of people in the racing value chain.”

Another former champion trainer, Geoff Woodruff, said: “It’s an enormous sense of relief. It’s also just a joy to be working properly again.”

Woodruff echoed the NHA’s call for all racecourse participants to stick closely to the hygiene rules: “We have to be squeaky clean. To be shut down again would be disastrous.”

Brian Riley, acting chairman of owners’ body, the Racing Association, warned racing was still in crisis, with major operator Phumelela having entered business rescue this month and falling revenues threatening all aspects of the industry.

“There’s a bigger journey ahead to get racing back to a position of viability,” he explained. “We will be racing for 40% less stake money than before, which isn’t sustainable for long. Fortunately, moves are under way to get racing back to full strength.”

The first post-lockdown race meeting will be at Durban’s Greyville racecourse on Monday. The Vaal on the Highveld hosts Tuesday’s action and Cape Town’s Kenilworth is the venue on Thursday.

Snaith needs to find a way of getting from Cape Town to Durban to link up with his KwaZulu-Natal winter season string, which completed the journey before lockdown. Among these horses is champion Do It Again, who will be trying to complete an unprecedented hat-trick of wins in the Vodacom Durban July on 25 July. –