How Greg Bortz plans to fix Cape racing

Cynics on social media accused Greg Bortz of having got himself a “sweetheart deal” when he and partner Hollywoodbets acquired Kenilworth Racing. He responded by posting his cellphone number and inviting all and sundry to join him in the business – “so they can share in this sweetheart deal”.

There were no takers, which says everything about what a tough job horse owner Bortz and Hollywoodbets boss Owen Heffer have taken on – no less a task than saving Cape Town horse racing from extinction.

“Without intervention, Cape racing would have fallen over,” says Bortz in a recent interview with Cape Racing, which deserves a far wider audience than it has had.

“The patient wasn’t critical. The patient was dead!” he says of the state of the game beneath Table Mountain.

“It’s no sweetheart deal, it’s a rescue package. If all goes well and to plan, some time in the future we may get back some, or even all, our money. But making lots of money on our money is not going to happen!” he declares.

Why bother, then? “Owen and I are doing it for the best of reasons. We are both just sick for horse racing.”

Increased stakes

On 5 July, the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust and Kenilworth Racing (KR) announced a deal was being done to sell KR to Bortz’s GMB Investments and Durban-based international bookmaking firm Hollywoodbets. The complex deal is worth R330-million, with much of the cash injection going to pay off debt and save KR from as financial collapse.

Bortz is now executive chairman of KR, which manages racing in Western Cape, while well-known former bloodstock agent Justin Vermaak has been appointed director of racing operations.

In the Cape Racing interview, Bortz says his priority is to take all steps possible to grow the local horse population. From this, other improvements will flow.

The first of these steps will be to raise the prize money on offer.

“Hollywoodbets and I are dipping into our pockets to increase stakes – not just a little bit, but materially. We want to make it attractive for owners around the country to come and race their horses in the Cape,” he explains.

A next step will be to “get a lot smarter with our programme”. Bortz agrees with the long-held view of trainers that there are not enough opportunities for horses of all calibre in Western Cape. “We are going to be holding lots more races for lower-rated horses, widening the appeal, adding to the programme – without taking anything away from our offering for the best horses.”

‘Festivalising’ the calendar

Bortz says the horse population in the Cape has fallen significantly in recent years and this has had negative knock-on effects. Fewer fixtures and smaller field sizes means smaller betting turnover, which in turn means less money available for stakes, less for owners and trainers and so on.

In a separate interview last week, Vermaak said he had planned a package of incentives to “weaponise” Cape trainers to draw in more owners and grow the size of their yards.

Apart from improved stakes, part of this weapons package is dramatically improving the racing “experience” for owners. This will involve “festivalising” the racing calendar, among other things.

Bortz says rescuing a failing business requires two things: cutting costs and growing revenue.

On the cost-cutting front, he says KR has “too many properties and facilities” and he is currently working with the likes of property companies on a smarter arrangement of assets.

In addition to selling off some properties, the company will be spending money on improving others – including the “tired old lady” Kenilworth Racecourse.

Bortz addressed a packed meeting of Cape Town trainers last week, outlining his vision, and the response was universally positive and enthusiastic.

But the man who fell in love with racing while growing up in Durban – before making his fortune in private equity investment in the US –is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

“Talk is cheap. But Hollywood and my commitment is significant. Failing is something we cannot and will not contemplate.”