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Fools and horses

‘Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people’

The cracking quote above – by American comedian and writer WC Fields – seemed so in tune with the cheers from the Durban July still echoing around Greyville racetrack. While there were many happy to watch the action from the sidelines and enjoy a couple of glasses of overpriced fizz, there were invariably a few bitten by the horse-owner bug… a move likely to have a more than detrimental effect on their wallets.

“Owning a horse capable of running in the Durban July is magic and an absolute privilege,” says Global Trader CEO Charles Savage. His horse – Captains Wild, which is owned in partnership with Global Trader sales director Bradley Leather – was a runner in this year’s feature race and finished 16th of the 20 horses. While the disappointment was obvious, the experience was enough to ensure Savage and Co will be back to try again for other feature races.

While Savage and Leather have enjoyed some success on the racetrack, that doesn’t mean it’s an affordable hobby. Says Savage: “I was chatting to a guy the other day and he’s bought two horses each year for the past 20 years and not enjoyed a horse capable of running in a grade one feature race, let alone being competitive.”

It’s not unusual to fork out R90 000 to R100 000 on a racehorse – Captains Wild cost R90 000. So if you assume each horse on average costs R75 000, that’s an investment of R3m simply to get on to the playing field. If you also consider it probably costs another R150 000/year to get a top-class trainer of the calibre of Mike de Kock – who had multiple runners in the July, including race winner Igugu – it certainly doesn’t work out a cheap hobby.

If you thought race winnings made up some of the costs, consider that while Igugu has now won just under R7m there are thousands of horses that race each year without winning a cent. You only need to read a newspaper each day to work out your chances of securing a winner.

And it’s not just the financial cost but the emotional toll attached to horses that make them such expensive and challenging “investments”. Another July runner – Big City Life – ran an incredible race, finishing sixth but broke its leg shortly after the finish line and had to be put down. It was a previous July winner in 2009 and various horseracing betting forums were abuzz with comments about the horse and the impact it had made on trainer Glen Kotzen and the owner. “I remember Raymond Deacon with his fists in the air and on his knees saluting the fans in the stand. I thank you Big City Life for giving us racing enthusiasts the opportunity for experiencing the raw emotions of that day. RIP,” commented one forum.

Horseracing may be an exciting industry to look at from the outside in and there must be many readers tempted to get in on the game after a big race day. But much like punting on a racehorse is a bit of a lottery, your chances of success on the turf are limited and it may be better just to stick to being an observer from the grandstand.
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