Bortz -‘Horse Population Remains A Challenge’

“Rome wasn’t built in a day and rebuilding Cape Horse Racing is an investment in the long-term health of the sport. It’s not a one-day game – we’re on the pitch for the long term!”

In conversation with the Sporting contribution On Saturday night, as he prepared to board a flight to Melbourne for the Asian Racing Conference, charismatic Kenilworth Racing Chief Executive Officer Greg Bortz responded to social media posters after comments were made about the seven race cards set to be played on Saturday were held at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

“We tailor our clothing to suit the racing population – we actually have two choices. If we haven’t entered enough horses we can cancel races or innovate and make it work. Maybe a full map with small numbers or like we did here today a decent seven race program and at least we’re racing. The canceled meetings of other regions hurt us and we don’t want to take the seemingly easy path and cancel. This way South African racing gets hurt too and no one benefits. And remember, the most profitable days are when you’re not hosting the show. We need to think outside the box for the common good. As simple as that.”

With net pools including R899,804 (pick 6), R357,674 (PA) and R213,539 (bipot), Saturday’s dividends were healthy with the pick 6 delivering over R148,000, the PA R3 256, the bipot R8 454 and the two jackpots R5,054 or R9,700.

Bortz, a revelation to us in the media accustomed to race administrators shying away from transparency and never committing or saying anything substantial, confirmed that Cape Racing “picked their shots”.

“Let’s not forget – the Cape at one time had the lowest horse population in the country. We’ve had some great races and a lot of them. We have also increased our race meetings. Derby day is upon us and some of the raiders have returned home while some trainers are holding back to racing on the big day. These are all practical realities. But we have plans and we are not sitting still.”

He added that the general public needs to be aware of the reality that the knock-on effect of the decline and decline in the South African horse population would only get worse before things improved.

“The foal numbers suggest it will get worse before things improve. We are fortunate here in the Cape as we have a large 2 year old population and we have worked to offer a youth racing program that provides a real incentive to race. And that’s the key to turning the whole show around – we need to show a good, tangible reason and reason for breeders to breed more horses and for owners to buy more horses.”

He implored observers who “like to bang the drum although they may not be fully informed” to reflect on the work of the last six months and not try to undermine those achievements because a seven-race program is on the agenda.

“And please allow me to get this straight – there will be a further seven race programs in the coming months and years! There’s nothing wrong with a seven-event card under these circumstances. We must not get stuck in the past. Racing is dying! We’re trying to revitalize it and we recognize that we need to be innovative, creative and play the cards we’ve been dealt.”

The 39th^th The Asian Racing Conference takes place in Melbourne from Tuesday 14th to Friday 17th February.