KEEPING TRACK

Karel,

Fair enough and point taken and accepted..I wasnt aware though that you were a WCape guy where I believe that things seem to be better off.

However if you are then happy with P's performance so far you then should be happy with a possible merger between P and GC?

From what Ive read in the press GC itself is not performing as a company..I stand to be corrected on this pt though..and that merger should make sense then.

Personally I do believe though that the matter of horseracing now run by a listed co in the large and possibly (if a merger should take place) the whole industry, the co that has this responsibility should be already doing research with the players that keep it alive to determine as all good cos do whether or not they are satisfying their customers needs.

Do they even know what their customers are thinking as regards the product they are selling? (hopefully they are at the very least reading sites like this)

Its one thing running a company which competes amongst others in a defined niche in the market, in this case as narrow as horseracing BUT quite another running a company which controls the entire industry.

Let us all hope that the new guys take a long hard look at the requirements of all the players in this horseracing industry incl punters, owners, trainers,breeders, bookmakers,tote operators, and all the employees of the industry incl P and GC employees etc and are able to ensure that the game grows not at the expense of the co shareholders but for the co shareholders.

My fears are however that short term tactics of selling off assets, pushing international tote turnovers and small increases in local stake money have caused very large dividends early on together with huge gains in share price which has caused unsustainable expectations of current shareholders and this is going to be very difficult to manage for the new guys.

PS I must congratulate you for at least getting involved in this discussion without throwing out insults and respect yr opinions.

Oscar,

Ask any high-powered, successful business person who knows nothing about racing this question:
"What would you recommend to do when you consider a battling industry with two players, each with expensive management structures, when those players are not in competition with each other and have a single, merged source of income?"

I think I know what the answer would be.
What are we waiting for?

a recipe for further rationalisation if ever there was one. solves (or at least postpones) the problem for P management of coming up with the next big idea - they can just recycle the old one

in fairness it is common sense that there are inefficiencies currently, when the tote product is one and the same. but exactly which stakeholders will see the benefit of the improvement?

- if the tote is cheaper to run, will betting cost less?
- if race meetings are cheaper to host, will the savings be passed through to stakes?
- if marketing costs are not duplicated, will there be scope to reach out to an audience that doesn't already watch Tellytrack?

I stand opposed to a merger because:

1. monopolies never turn out well for the consumer
2. it would be a takeover rather than a merger (i guess)
3. 'corporatisation' changes the emphasis from 'best for racing' to making a profit
4. how does GC better itself by having to pay income/company tax and dividends?
5. and racing's assets move from 'in trust' onto the balance sheet (like P)

Karel,

Your comments scare me..is it time to get outa here??

Oscar,

Not at all.
We're not worried, we want things to improve.

Jack,

Are you saying it isn't a monopoly now?

Are also saying that GC is doing better than P. at present, given your assessment of GC have far less to pay to third parties?

making a profit is an excellent basis for running racing: all of those that racing must compete against for the betting rand are motivated by profit

the question is rather whether the manner by which profits are being sought is sustainable. and there are as many opinions on that as there are stakeholders, some with more influence than others.

Anyway after all that I shall retire to my private box and watch my investments run last..what the hell will it change in my life?? NOTHING

Without getting to involved. . .

1. Companies are in business to make a profit.
2. RT has a 35.8% stake in P so w/dividends - will benefit, and re-invest.
3. A Thin line - extracting max short term profit or killing long term product?

What side of said thin line are P on?

I don't profess to know - but reading 'between the lines' - it could go either way.

Which imo, will not be in anyones long term interest - and yes that does include P.

Respectfully, Jim.

For owners asking are we better off since the Phumelela era consider the following :

Comparisons (Approx): --- 2000

---

2007
Stakes:
Maiden Plate :

---

R50 000 -- R65 000
Nett Stake:

---

R31 500 -- R40 500
Less deductions:

---

R27 000 --- R33 700

Training Fees:

---

R2 600 ---- R4 500

(Bag of Feed:

---

R61.00 --- R117.00)

Average price of horses at the National Yearling Sale increased by 227% from 2000 to 2006.

none of that has happened in a vacuum. the stated motivation for merging the turf clubs was to unify the industry so that it could compete against the forthcoming casino industry. one must consider whether individual turf clubs could have survived at all.

As i understand it, in the late 1990's, the assets and liabilities of the 3 Racing clubs in Gauteng (Newmarket, Gosforth Park and Turfontein) were sold to Phumelela for R115.5million, raised as a RA loan Phumelela. This imo seems to indicate that the racing clubs were holding their own and disposal of assets might not have been necessary.
Added to this the assets of the Totalisator Agency Board and the horse racing authority were incorporated into Phumelela.
But people will be quick to point out that that is the past and we must move on (as we are always reminded when the discussion re the disposal of Newmarket comes up).
The question posed is if we are better off since the Phumelela era.
Speaking for myself as an owner, who has invested much of his life savings into the game, i say NO.