Ag pleez Deddy Prez! Pleez Mr Patel…

Hearts must have sunk when President Cyril Ramaphosa declared on Thursday night: “Concerts, sporting events, and religious, cultural and social gatherings will not be allowed until it is deemed safe for them to continue.”

But little glimmers of hope lit up some of his other words, for example his invitation to sectors of society to make their case for resuming normal activities.

It so happens that on Wednesday the National Horseracing Authority – the game’s oversight body – submitted just such a case to the government to be considered as separate from other “sporting events”.

In his argument, NHA CEO Vee Moodley explained that racing has proved its virus-dodging expertise over several weeks, sticking like glue to regulations at its many training centres around the country – with not one of hundreds of workers contracting Covid-19 (touch wood; fingers crossed). It could do the same on a racecourse without spectators.

The fate of those workers’ jobs, and their families’ futures, also came up.

The examples of Hong Kong and Australia racing on behind closed doors for more than a month – without allowing the dastardly virus an inch – were cited.

The capacity of racing to churn money, attract foreign currency and fill local pockets will have been one of the more persuasive points raised. The economy must start moving, must it not?

Racing falls under jurisdiction of the Department of Trade and Industry – despite Sport and Agriculture seeming to be more appropriate – so the Minister making the fateful decision is Ebrahim Patel.

Patel has not covered himself in glory so far during the coronavirus crisis, fouling up notably with the roast chicken fandango. So, this is his chance to redeem himself, pull a rabbit out of the hat and become a hero by making millions of people happy. (You know you want to Mr P!)

Patel has no known association with racing, so we just have to hope Moodley’s ear-bending is eloquent enough to turn a politician’s head.

Ramaphosa said his Cabinet Ministers would provide details of the shift from Risk Level 5 to Level 4 over the next few days.

Nominations for the planned first race meetings of the May Day weekend close on 28 April and by then we should know what’s what.

One more thing to consider, arising from Ramaphosa’s speech, is the possibility of some places in the country opening up sooner than others. So, even if Patel deems health risks too high in Joburg, Durban and Cape Town, he might give the green light to Port Elizabeth, Vereeniging, Pietermaritzburg and Kimberley – which all have racecourses.

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