OPINION: Grant van Niekerk lobs a grenade

Where does one start in trying to explain abandonment of Wednesday’s race meeting at Cape Town’s Hollywoodbets Durbanville racecourse?

The matter is riddled with wrong-headedness; not to mention financial and reputational damage.

Horse racing is all about finding winners but there are no winners in this calamity. Just a loser: the game in South Africa.

The midweek fixture was called off by operator Cape Racing after jockeys on course took industrial action, angered by disciplinary measures against one of their number, Grant van Niekerk.

It kicked off when Van Niekerk went ballistic against the National Horseracing Authority (NHA), the industry regulator, in a live TV interview after he’d won Race 2 on the card – on a horse called Wehaveasituation (would you believe?)

Banned for 21 days

The jockey was angry about a finding handed down earlier, following an inquiry into his riding in a race on 16 March. Stipendiary stewards said his riding that day “failed to ensure he did not cause interference” to other runners, banned him from racing for 21 days and imposed a R50,000 fine. It granted him right of appeal against both the finding and the penalty.

Van Niekerk wasn’t waiting for appeals and used the public platform of the winner’s circle to accuse the statutory body of “favouritism” and of being overly harsh on breadwinners struggling to make a buck.

“It’s a waste of time being a jockey in South Africa,” he stated.

The NHA didn’t appreciate the critique. It suspended Van Niekerk with immediate effect, citing Rule 72.1.26, which has to do with bringing things into disrepute. No more riding until further notice.

Van Niekerk found solidarity among colleagues, who issued demands and threatened to strike. Cape Racing said it wouldn’t be held to ransom and called off proceedings after the third race.

Some points need to be made.

• The jockeys were wrong to threaten a strike. Racing in South Africa is still in a fragile state and getting bolshy with major benefactors – Cape Racing, its boss Greg Bortz and its funder Hollywoodbets – is a bullet through the foot. Cape Racing has since called off two fixtures – on 2 and 6 April – for fear of more disruption. Everyone loses.

• Jockeys knew the meeting was being televised in various places overseas and the international reputation of their own industry was on the line. Hong Kong’s World Pool venture has been invaluable in propping up local racing and powers-that-be in that city – famous for ruthless policing of racing – can’t have been impressed, especially ahead of a World Pool-branded meeting at Turffontein this coming weekend.

• Van Niekerk should have shut the eff up. If he has a good case, go through the right channels; civil court if necessary – with damages etc. Broader jockey issues have airings elsewhere; the punting public shouldn’t be forced to hear grumbles.

• The NHA should not have lost its rag and rushed to immediate suspension – greatly inflaming a fraught, angry situation.

• The NHA has an essential role to play in keeping racing credible, prosecuting wrongdoing fearlessly and punishing miscreants. Without public trust, all is lost. That said, the body has attracted a lot of antagonism within the industry with its apparently clumsy handling of investigations – thereby undermining its role as an impartial arbiter. In particular, lengthy postponements of high-profile cases invite the favouritism label.

• Cool heads need to prevail. Bortz issued a measured, sensible statement and 4Racing’s Gaby Soma commendably backed him up. Trouble is, racing people can be excitable.

• Responsible voices in the industry say the whole thing might blow over soon. That could happen but clearly sources of tension need addressing.