Queen Elizabeth II’s runner Reach For The Moon was a red-hot 2-5 favourite to win the Hampton Court Stakes, but the colt was given a galloping lesson by Claymore, owned by South Africa’s Mark Slack. Picture: iStock.
The “groom issue” is one of many problems plaguing the South African racing industry. A step towards addressing the issue was made this week with the announcement of an initiative to show appreciation for hard work that humble stable staff do to keep the show on the road – and indeed at high standard.
Horse owners’ body the Racing Association (RA) has a sponsorship from Studio 88 – of leading owner Laurence Wernars – to provide cash prizes for grooms of successful horses in big races over the Highveld autumn season.
It kicks off on Saturday as the delayed Gauteng Guineas day is staged at Turffontein racecourse.
Grooms of feature race winners will get R2500 and a winning trophy. The second-placed groom pockets R1000, third place R750, fourth R500 and fifth R250.
Saturday’s qualifying races are the Grade 2 World Sports Betting Gauteng Guineas, the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas and the Grade 3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap.
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In a business where millions are sloshed about daily, these prizes might seem modest, but they do represent a start in addressing apparent inequities – and will surely be welcomed with the game and the world in general enduring hard times.
Discontent over living conditions and remuneration of stable staff have in recent years seen strikes and protests at training centres and even on racecourses. While there has been a strong element of political opportunism in much of this action, there has also been acknowledgement in “the establishment” that a groom’s lot could be a whole lot better.
Key players in racing’s current business rescue process have placed addressing groom welfare and racial imbalances in the industry among their restructuring priorities. And the Studio 88 bonuses might be seen as a first step.
The army of people who make stable yards operational are the artisans of the game – at the coalface or on the production line, so to speak. Their duty of care means they are closer and more intimately connected to the horses’ everyday needs than even the trainers – and certainly more so than rich and remote owners who sign the cheques.
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The RA’s press release this week put it thus: “Any seasoned participant in the horse racing industry will be aware that passion and hard work are integral features of any successful stable.
“It is a most rewarding profession to be a part of and getting out in the early morning with beautiful thoroughbreds may just be the perfect way to start the day.
“The hard-working grooms are the early risers who attend to all of the basic needs of their charges. This includes cleaning the stables and feeding, watering and grooming the horses.
“The next step is taking them to the training tracks to put them through their exercise regime. And on race days, the grooms accompany their horses to the racecourses and ensure their safe return…
“Trainers regard the grooms as an integral part of their operation and in keeping with the plans of the industry to empower and promote grooms, the RA has managed to secure [this] sponsorship…”
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