A racegoer shelters from the rain. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP
A week is a long time in politics, it is said, and recent political events in South Africa, the US, the UK, France and elsewhere back that up.
It’s also a long time in horse racing, as Greg Bortz will attest to as he sits in his office at Kenilworth Racecourse, watches rain pelt down and contemplates abandoning another race meeting.
Less than a fortnight earlier, Greg was in glorious sunshine at Greyville, marvelling at a lifelong dream come true: owning a winner of the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
But the boss of Cape Racing is not one for moping – even with 508mm of rain at Kenilworth in July and a host of meetings washed out.
Bortz struck an upbeat and confident note in an interview this week with Sporting Post.
“A few sleepless nights and a bit of distractive aggravation, yes. But we have an outstanding team, and the determination and the foresight to overcome the challenges,” he told the racing paper.
“We have faced bigger challenges than the weather, and we are monitoring and changing plans hourly. It’s all systems go.”
Nonetheless, both Wednesday and Saturday meetings this week were called off.
In that interview, Bortz quipped “…unless the horses become ducks, and the jockeys wear life jackets and snorkels, there is no chance of racing. Unfortunately, we can’t turn our courses into indoor arenas!”
Explaining the scrapping of Saturday’s racing four days in advance, a press release said plenty more rain was forecast.
“Initiating an early abandonment allows us to accurately re-schedule the busy period of racing to follow, allowing trainers and stakeholders to plan efficiently.”
It added that the weather was expected to improve dramatically from the weekend and into the latter parts of July.
The racing world knows about the challenges Bortz spoke of. Western Cape racing was about to die when he took on the job of fixing it a couple of years ago – introducing new ideas, revamping facilities and pumping in money.
That same energy and urgency were evident as Cape Racing announced the fixture rearrangement, with two new meetings added to the calendar before the 2023/24 season concludes at the end of the month.
The new programme is as follows:
The overhaul of facilities included improving drainage at the region’s two venues. Unfortunately, Cape Town’s training centres have also been flooded and horses have not been able to gallop much.
Local trainers are updated of developments on a daily basis and a new nominations system has been devised for the changing scenario.
Weather affects our moods, say scientists, but a sunny outlook can help us weather it, so to speak.
The Beatles, of all people, sang about tackling the elements with Bortz-like equanimity and mind-over-matter in a forgotten song called “Rain”:
I can show you
That when it starts to rain (when the rain comes down)
Everything is the same (when the rain comes down)
I can show you
I can show you
Rain
I don’t mind
Shine
The weather’s fine
Can you hear me?
That when it rains and shines (when it rains and shines)
It’s just a state of mind (When it rains and shines)…
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