SportingPost

Ill bite (well done Bob)


They could run/investigate stories like lets say mmmmmm

trainer sleeps in stable due to poor situation in racing?

Robyn could dress up as a Sheiks Wife, arrive at any training establishment on a Sunday gain access to stables and photograph herself injecting a horse.

A male member of the staff could dress up as a Sheik and find one of many jockeys to provide some inside information whilst being recorded

They could hire the top greenskeeper in South Africa break into Greyville on the weekend and run some tests on the turf and publish their independent findings

They could plant a staff member within certain departments of "the machine" and report back on findings.

for starters

more ideas to follow

I think it's called investigative journalism, like 3rd degree or carte blanche....This looks like a job for Devi Sangaree or what's her name ....

Hi all,

Robyn Louw here. Firstly, thanks Bob & Don for defending the SP and for defending me - always good to know one has friends However, Easy is well within his (her?) rights to ask questions / express an opinion, so thanks for the constructive feedback - always appreciated.

Hard news stories are OK as long as they are backed up by fact. Unfortunately - tempting as it may be - writing stories with no factual base is irresponsible and unfair to all the parties involved. So although it often feels as though 'everyone' says x, y or z, without those people willing to come forward and be named as witnesses or providing solid evidence, there is little one can do from a media point of view. You would be AMAZED by the things I get told as swear-on-the-bible-FACT which then evaporate as soon as one tries to find facts to back them up. So one has to be careful / responsible and keep your powder dry until you are really sure of your story.

Thanks for the tip re the Greyville track. I have complained about it before, and particularly the new poly track and the lack of the safety ditch as I did and continue to think that it is highly dangerous for every blindingly obvious reason. Other reports/reporters have done the same.

Unfortunately I am based in the Cape, so I don't often get the opportunity to look at the track in person. However, given all the debate, I do like to collect opinion and walk that track when I can as I think that is a responsible thing to do (as I like to do with all other tracks I get access to. I'm not sure whether it helps at all - I am not a turf specialist - but it provides a frame of reference if nothing else). I can confirm that Greyville is an interesting experience. But then so is Newmarket.

What I can tell you is that a LOT of people were saying they were not happy about the Greyville track, but that is no secret as we have that every year (interestingly, usually around July time - which makes one wonder - why not the rest of the year?). While I can walk it, unfortunately what I can't do is ride it (and even if I did, I'm not sure I'd be able to pick up anything), so I have to rely on feedback I get from trainers and more particularly jockeys whose opinion I trust. I did ask for feedback and the feedback I got was too inconsistent to draw any proper conclusions. There is enough to make me concerned, but not enough for me to go 'dear sweet Jesus, stop all racing at Greyville'. So it is clear that more thought / work is required. However, it is difficult, if not downright unfair to comment until there are cold, hard facts. Which sadly we are rather short on as the NHA doesn't publish breakdown figures per track, so information is anecdotal at best. Also, by spelling this all out to you, I am now giving anyone who wants it, ammunition for a counter-argument against any case I might like to make. So thanks (not! ).

Out of interest, I chatted to a July course vet, several riders and checked the Stipes reports. The course vet I spoke to seemed to think they had a 'normal' amount of incidents on the day, although the Stipes reports include a lot of riders 'feeling something' on horses. The jockeys reports varied. Also a lot of runners did seem to pull up unsound. However, one also has to judge that against the fact that they have 12 races on the July card (although that is also balanced by the fact that it is a mixed meeting.....). Hopefully you are starting to get a sense of the conflicting information coming in....

Now, on to your other suggestions. Why would I want to dress up as a Sheikh's wife and inject a horse? That would be unethical, entirely illegal and just downright dangerous. Knowing my luck, I'd hit an artery, introduce an air bubble and end up killing the thing. In short, just not worth it. And even if you could convince me that it was - what could I possibly hope to gain out of it? The more intelligent suggestion might be turning up at any training establishment (and I'd like to add that most reputable training establishments welcome visits and therefore know who I am) and try and record and then steal any paraphernalia that might be lying around and send that for testing.
Assuming there is any paraphernalia to steal of course.

As for recording a jockey giving inside information to someone dressed as a Sheikh - I assume you have specific 'inside information' in mind, as most jockeys I know (and I say this with the utmost respect) are hopeless tipsters. Mainly because horses can be pretty inconsistent. ANything else they could tell you would be subjective at best, unless you could do a PETA expose and secretly record any of this sort of stuff happening - assuming of course that it actually does.

Lastly, in terms of planting someone within 'the machine', that would a) entail finding a job that is advertised to the public (and yes, I am being sarcastic here), b) getting some other chump to cover my normal work (which I might add is not as glamorous as some may think) and c) really ??? Does one have to WORK for the operators in order to accuse them of making mistakes? We are all human and mistakes are a daily fact of life. The slightly harder job is working out which mistakes are deliberate and ought to be made a fuss of and which aren't. Volunteers gratefully accepted !

At the end of the day, we are all essentially on the same side (yes, I know it doesn't always feel that way). The 'Machine' is trying to do a job and trying to get it done as cheaply and efficiently as possible. The media try to pick up mistakes / shortcuts to make sure it isn't done TOO cheaply / efficiently to be pose a danger to anyone, while also trying to maintain that fine balance of being nice to the 'Machine' with being critical in the right proportion so that we are invited close enough to look at things often enough in order to make an objective evaluation while staying at enough of an arm's length to be able to stay objective.

But please do keep those suggestions coming.

nice reply...

Cheers Robyn

I always enjoy Robyn's article's and find her a brilliant journalist

Since the S/Post was first published,i enjoyed it as the most informative racing publication ever (for me) that is
For many years i bought both midweek and weekend even when i knew i was not going to play that week/weekend

My first problem with it was when the Quick Pick page was printed (laid out) so poor that you could not take out the middle pages without disturbing a race/meeting

I have complained about it, here on ABC (i Think)
But no, like the "Operators" :lol: they just gave me a big FU and did it again...not funny :dry:

My second gripe was that they print all these Sales catalogues using almost half of the
paper giving Breeders a lot of advertising space
Obviously they paid for it but i always felt that as a punter i also paid for something which i did not need

To cap it all, you always felt like the midweek edition was not worth paying the same amount for

Maybe thats the real reason it wasn't selling?

Anyway since it's demise i find i have more time for a lot of things as without, it I AM LOST!

Robyn


sums it up perfectly, the mere thought that YOU thought you were going to actually inject the horse makes me think that YOU are also seeing the emperors new robe…..

UNBELIEVABLE ………

I can't keep quiet even though i tried

SPEAK to someone OUT side the industry, someone that has FUCKALLLLLL to lose by telling you the truth…..


Ask why

Dumpy Schoeman is commentating on track and someone else to the international feed
ask why pro rata more horse shed shoes in SA on their way to the start that anywhere else
ask why more horses pro rata break through stalls in sa than anywhere else
PRENTEND to inject the horse to prove how easy it is to do it


DONT ask people within TODAY showed YOU that if you rock the boat you get punished. so many don't rock the boat those are the many you interview all the time.

for petes sake, you say you care but really and truly care by thinking outside the box don't just accept the 1st answer

sorry i forgot to say

IF YOU WANT TO!!!!

Easy if only life were as "easy" to remedy. Whilst it is "easy" to identify the problems, I am not so sure confirming that we have problems will bring about change. There are many examples of problems should you take the time to go through the postings here and SP, that are genuine and should be addressed. As someone who has no investment in horses besides a recreational bet on most days, I believe that I do not get caught in the emotions that come with serious investment that is part and parcel of ownership. So in my opinion, highlighting serious problems does not always result in changes taking place to remedy the issues. The problem as I see it, lies at the feet of the "machine" as you call it. Small owners are not represented nor are they vocal about the problems. You cannot blame them for keeping quiet as the dissenters are quickly sorted out as van Vuuren/Azzie can attest to. Look at how David Safi and formgrids are treated as a further example. My point is that decisions are made to benefit individuals at the expense of racing. You can huff and puff as long as you want, but until individual owners stand together you will achieve naught. I wonder how Mr Burnard went with his attempt to garner support against the state of the Greyville track? I would wager that it did not go too well. Owners want pleasure from their hobbies and not get involved in political drama.

OTA

I disagree completely. SP is a national publication , and even though its a specialist ( yes specialist) paper it still could find itself into mainstream readership.

My original "outburst" is for the complete and utter lack of NEWS ground breaking news that is unique, researched , investigated.

How many more times are you content with a profile of Dougie Whyte or breaking news that a freshman sire has just had his 10th winner of the campaign…….

come one now lets not beat around the bush. Yes their are problems that exist and will continue to exist even if they are reported BUT with a national publication doing the reporting its no longer the "lunatics" on the forum.

Should the SP NOT take a VIEW on the fine imposed on Paul peter?

After all , being a specialist paper also means that when racing is completely and utter fucked they will sell ZERO

I can want that i too will be start the writing of the newspaper for the horse.
Just i do first the classes to learn the typing and speelling. Then they be letting me meet their Grand Ma. not sure why ? but hey paid for the course so what the hell.