Racial tensions may force an end to South African horse racing

THE future of racing in South Africa has been thrown into doubt after white trainers said they may have to abandon the sport following a racially tinged confrontation with their black grooms.

A row over pay turned violent last week after stable hands smashed gates and tore down fences at the country’s biggest training yard, forcing farmers to barricade stables to protect themselves and their horses. They say they were under siege for nearly three days.

The grooms were taking part in a strike called by the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa’s most radical political party. According to Mike de Kock, a celebrated trainer, death threats were made against him, his family, his staff and even the horses.

He and other trainers said they had to force their way through a picket line of 300 weapon-wielding grooms to gain access to the North Rand Training Centre, 25 miles north of Johannesburg, where more than 700 racehorses are stabled.

“We feared for our own safety – and for the horses,” he said. Trainers said that had they not reached the stables, the horses would not have been fed, cleaned out or watered. Some grooms had threatened to turn the horses loose, they added.

Last week’s strike was orchestrated by the Economic Freedom Fighters led by Julius Malema, a populist known for his fiery, racially charged rhetoric.

Earlier this month he said he was not calling for the killing of the country’s white minority, before adding: “…at least for now. I can’t guarantee the future”.

It was almost inevitable that South Africa’s horse racing industry, which dates back two centuries, would become a target for Mr Malema.

Few operations in post-apartheid South Africa have less ethnic diversity, giving the sport a reputation of being white and elitist.

An unofficial South African Grooms’ Association had been poorly supported and collapsed. One groom at a stables north of Johannesburg, who asked not to be named, said: “We paid money to them every month but we stopped paying because they did nothing for us. Some grooms are not paid properly. But we don’t want to lose our jobs.”

Peter Naidoo, an owner who has raced in Dubai, said: “We can’t have a repeat of last week. We have no national grooms’ association or union, and trainers and owners approached me this week and I will form one with the support of everyone. We have to do something or our beloved industry will collapse.”

He added: “It is true a few trainers did underpay, but that will stop. Believe me, we have had so many upliftment programmes but we must do more.”

While conceding that some trainers underpaid and overworked their grooms, Mr de Kock insisted most of the industry’s 3,000 stable hands were well looked after. But in the light of recent events he said he might have to consider cutting his string of horses by 40 per cent. “We’re seriously considering our position in South African racing,” he added.

The strike forced the cancellation of racing in South Africa last week. Although a pay deal was reached with grooms’ representatives, many fear lasting damage may have been done.

Geoff Woodruff, a trainer, said he had received reports of owners wanting to give up racing in South Africa, raising fears that the sport could die out there. Horse racing in Africa’s former British colonies is in steep decline, barely clinging on in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Racing in South Africa was already struggling, with fewer meetings and smaller purses.