Friends:
I am pleased to advise that progress is at long last tangible
after what has been for the most part, another difficult year. Certain
milestones have been reached, most importantly of which, is a rapprochement
with Gold Circle under the foresight and steerage of Michel Nairac. Gold Circle
have just had members pass the requisite resolutions to de-merge the KZN and WC
regions. Certain processes however still require legal sanction for this to
become fully effective. Gold Circle, together with PGE and Phumelela, face a
current Competition Board complaint from an EC business-woman Phindi Kema which
keeps tensions at a fairly high level.
Our office-suite in the Greyville grandstand complex has
been extended, your chairman has been co-opted onto the board of the KZN racing
chapter, feasibilities of different JV models with GC are being investigated, harness
racing continues, and certain Phumelela commissions owing to us have been
channeled back to us.
We remain however sorely constrained by a cash shortage,
owing to the morally questionable exclusion from us of participating in funds
generated in South Africa by in-coming harness racing simulcasts. Your board
remains committed to fighting its case with ATG, Phumelela and PGE, and this
task will form a major aspect of strategy in the ensuing year.
As was evidenced at the Parliamentary DTI Portfolio
Committee’s public hearings on the report of the Gambling Review Commission in
Cape Town recently, transformation in the horse-racing and stud breeding
sectors remains of importance to government and central to our purpose and
aspirations. Scrutiny by government of the current thoroughbred industry is
intense and I am sure that change to the land-scape is both imminent and
inevitable. Harness racing and its attributes can and hopes to fill any future
voids.
Our natural alignment with rural horseracing (telebhela) via
the trotting and pacing gaits is compelling, and unlike with the other code,
provides an enormous existing base of potential support. We are working closely
with both Gold Circle and government in this development. One such project in
this endeavour is the construction of a rural data-base, which is currently
underway and to assist with which, we have engaged young Devonne Govender – one
of our licensed drivers. Our links with DTI and the formation of PDI co-operatives
to participate at ownership level in both the racing and breeding environments continues.
The commitment of HRSA to training remains key to our
strategy, and our sponsorships at both the Dundee July and Sisonke Summer Cup
are both disproportionate to our means, and noted by government. At the 2011
Dundee July, we again ran a “tote” on the day which once again offered the
strategically important “Pick 7” harness racing bet.
The Coastal Horse-care Unit also continues to work closely
with us in rural equestrian development. It is sad to note that the equine has
fallen off the agenda as far as the department of agriculture (DAFF) is
concerned (only production livestock animals are supported), and work is
required to reverse this unfortunate dereliction of responsibility.
I am however delighted to report that the Registrar for
Animal Improvement, DAFF, has at last approved our applications for formal
registration of the Standardbred and Trotteurs Francais as approved breeds in
South Africa. This approval took no less than five (5) painstaking years, 2
trips to parliament and much angst to achieve! This formalization provides the
necessary foundation for our two newly registered breed societies to operate.
HRSA has created The Standardbred Breeders Association and The Trotteurs
Francais Breeders Association. Proposed constitutions for both are in a state
of construct, and we are working closely with the Stud Book in Bloemfontein in
this regard.
Our attempts to import frozen semen for AI have been
unsuccessful, with breeding farms in both North America and Europe indicating
an unwillingness to freeze semen on the onerous testing and collection terms
required by the SA veterinary authorities.
We have now taken the “bull by the horns” and purchased the
stallion Sugar Trader (US) bh 2000, who we expect to receive in mid-February.
This horse has both a strong pedigree and solid racing performance (he finished
second in the Hambletonian stakes USA), with a total career earnings of R6m,
and is already the sire of winners in Europe. We are yet to determine a “home”
to stand Sugar Trader. At some point, we believe a Pacing stallion should also
be secured to fully complement the current trotter and rural breeding base.
In January and February we again hosted a touring party from
the Sundsvalls (equine) Academy and we hope to repeat this in 2012. Another
Swedish team would help significantly in our project of data compilation and
passport issue to the rural herd.
In August, driver Bart Rice travelled to Italy to
participate in the European amateur driving championships in Taranto. Bart was
unsuccessful there in driving a winner but no doubt gained much exposure for us
and experience for himself.
We have raced only 7 times in 2011 and remain constrained by
a shortage of stake monies to elevate the frequency of racing. A race is due on
22nd November at Greyville, and the possibility exists for a
showcase race at Ballito during the forthcoming COP 17 extravaganza in December.
HRSA is proud to have established the SA Trotting Academy.
There is an intention to develop this core concept into a unique and combined
stallion station, equine research, training and extension facility in Dundee.
Continuity of the project has been negatively impacted by the recent untimely
death of Mr Mabizela (project leader) in the Umzinyathi District Mayor’s
office, and new resources at that end are now urgently required. An MOU comprising HRSA, DSR, DAFF and Coastal
Horsecare Unit underpins the project.
Interestingly, the world-class Coromandel Stud at Lydenberg
in Mpumalanga province, the dream and creation of Edgars’ Group founder Sydney
Press, is still unoccupied. We have been in touch with the Land Bank and it
appears possible that under our aegis this facility could be re-established as
a Standardbred breeding farm.
The KZN Dept of Sport and Recreation’s Rural Horseracing
program, of which we are a stakeholder, continues to support us with funding
for various joint rural equine training and upliftment projects. We are
grateful to MEC Weziwe Thusi and Mike Mthembu for ongoing support. An
application for 2011/2012 DSR transfer funding for production of the rural
provincial equine data-base has just been approved..
We are extremely thankful to Mr Ulf Hörnberg (Sec Gen of ST
in Sweden) for all his support to date and were sorry to receive his
resignation off the HRSA board. He has been replaced on the board with the co-option
of Mr Johan Nilsson (Sweden). Johan will be visiting us for 2 weeks in
December.
We are additionally pleased to have gained a big notch
forward in our quest for transformation value, in the appointment of Mr
Mandlonke Ntanzi to our board. Mandla brings with him strong political
credentials and access to high office in South Africa. We wish him well in this
position, and look forward to the positives that he can bring to harness
racing’s quest for recognition.
Introduction of the V75 is still considered the greatest
likely mechanism to provide the funding required for growth in our industry,
and we are aggrieved by Phumelela’s below-the-belt “introduction” and
suppression of this bet. To this end we are currently engaged with ATG to
acquire a corresponding non-exclusive licensing arrangement. We need to exert
every strength to acquire this. Both France and Italy have also been engaged to
provide us with simulcast pictures.
I come now to the most pressing and important issue for HRSA
and ask acceptance for the principles set out here-under, and to which your
board have tied their coat-tails:
The Racecourse Operator’s License which has been held by
HRSA for the Dundee airfield track-site for the past 5 consecutive years and
which is renewable annually on 31st December, requires urgent transfer, or
faces expiry on 31st December this year. The value of this license
is mostly due to the old ordinance which granted a corresponding “permission”
to hold a totalisator license. On the 1st May 2011, the new KZN
Gaming and Betting Act – 2010 became law, and all licenses, terms and
priviledges held under the old ordinance will expire at the end of this year.
A preclusion of HRSA continuing to hold this license is that
the new Act requires licensees to be a “corporate body” (as defined in the new
Companies Act). We have had engagement with CIPC in this regard, but owing to a
huge back-log they are unable to provide us with an NPC company to meet this
timing requirement. Furthermore there are a number of onerous points of
compliance required by the new Act which we are now urgently attempting to effect.
We have consulted extensively with Barkers Attorneys, Durban, who have done the
investigation for us and advised that the new Racecourse Operator and
Totalisator licenses should be applied for by Trotco (Pty) Ltd. This entity
already holds the commercial rights to trotting in South Africa by way of the
Eclipse Agreement with HRSA, and is the vehicle for BBBEE equity stake-holdings
in the trotting industry. Trotco will correspondingly transfer 10% of its
shares to HRSA, and continue with its obligations as set out in the agreement.
We intend to submit both applications to the KZN Gambling
Board on Mon 21st Nov.
The future “home” for harness racing is still planned for
the KZN north coast, and most of you will by now have seen the layout and plans
that have been drawn for inclusion of this facility in the new Greenlands
(Ballito) town epi-centre on the west side of the N2 motorway. This of course
remains a dream until funding is secured, and to this end HRSA has lodged an
application for R125m project through the DBSA “Jobsfund” initiative. If this
were to succeed it would yield 90% grant funding with only 10% to be raised by
ourselves. We currently await an outcome to this application.
Your board is furthermore considering the offer of Wembley Stadium as a Gauteng trotting track
facility by Johannesburg businessman Pierre Sanan, and is evaluating the
current status of the old Bloemfontein race-track for a Freestate presence.
RSA membership numbers as at 1st November 2011 were as
follows:
Hon Life Members 1
Life Members
1
Family Memberships
2
Ordinary Members
31
Rural Members 553
Our continued gratitude to Michel Nairac and Gold Circle must
be recorded. The foresight of Michel, use of the Greyville office premises,
Summerveld barn, and NRB services provided to us are all greatly appreciated. We
trust that we can grow this alliance into a formalized collaboration in the
future.
A huge thank you to all owners who have invested patience, money in bloodstock from overseas
and received little so far by way of return. Please hang in there! The times,
they are a changin’!
Thank you too to the many other contributors and supporters
of trotting – your voices are heard and appreciated. We note sadly the recent
emigration of Dale Brereton-Styles – our most vocal female supporter of
trotting.
To our board members, Ian Deetlefs, Karel
Miedema, Michel Nairac, Menzi Buthlezi, Johan Nilsson and
Mandla Ntanzi – thank you to each and every one of you for the ear and guidance
that is so valuable and much appreciated. I wish you all a great Christmas, festive
season and holiday.
D.A.Latimer – chairman.
