Reader’s view not reflective of industry

One of the responsibilities of reputable newspapers like The Citizen is surely to ensure that views published have some foundation in reality and are not merely wild statements.

As such, it’s disappointing that The Citizen saw fit to give the light of day to a reader’s view under the headline “One horse takes millions of people for a ride” last Thursday.

The reader rubbished the entire South African horse racing industry because a horse backed by same reader in race 4 at Flamingo Park in Kimberley last Monday (Nice Chap 18/10 favourite) finished fourth and that there is a Pick 6 carryover every other week. It’s common cause that horses are not machines and many run below their best every week for a multitude of

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reasons. In Nice Chap’s case, the veterinary surgeon found him to be not striding out afterwards.

As for Pick 6 carryovers, any horse player will tell you it’s tough to pick the winners of six consecutive races. As such, carryovers arising from pools not won are commonplace.

For the record, tens of millions of rands are spent annually by the National Horseracing Authority, the autonomous controlling body of South African horse racing, to ensure that races are run according to the rules. More than 6 000 drug tests are conducted every year.

CEO Phumelela Gaming Media & Marketing

Rob Scott,

We publish letters that come with full name, address and telephone number even if you want to use a pseudonym. letters@citizen.co.za, fax 010-492-5386 or PO Box 43069 Industria 2042