The betting show must go on

In a nutshell, scheduled race meetings will continue – but behind closed doors “until further notice”.

An industry-wide press release mentioned that the likes of the Prawn Festival at Turffontein on 4 April were cancelled, but made no reference to important non-racecourse events such as the upcoming National Yearling Sale in Germiston and the much-hailed European Union audit of disease protocols which could open up vital equine export channels for South Africa.

The latter will surely be postponed due to visa issues, while it is difficult to see the sale going ahead on its due date of 22-24 April.

Meanwhile, the game has been pared down to its bare essence: horse and rider versus horse and rider, on an empty strip of turf. And, well removed from the action, punter versus tote and bookie – preferably online, but at arm’s length in an uncrowded room, if necessary.

The measures stick to the minimum prescribed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his Sunday night proclamation of a State of Disaster. But it’s hard to criticise racing for not going further given the near-disastrous state of its finances.

In a press release, operator Phumelela says “only essential racing participants” will be allowed onto courses, then mentions “owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, officials and staff deemed necessary to hold a race meeting safely and successfully”.

One might quibble about the physical presence of owners being essential to conduct racing. Meetings, particularly in mid-week, are generally bereft of owners and things carry on regardless.

Owners do sign the all-important cheques, but it is fair to say that grooms are, on a spiritual level, the true soulmates of racehorses. They spend most of their hours in close proximity to the creatures, while owners may be far away downtown in an office earning the oats, so to speak.

Punters will have to make do with online wagering or off-course betting shops, where only 100 patrons are allowed in at a time. The ubiquitous hand sanitiser will be there.

South Africa can take some solace from the fact that it moved before the UK, which hours later became the last major racing jurisdiction to announce emergency action.

A week after 250,000 people flocked to the four-day Cheltenham Festival – amid some tut-tutting, it must be said – closed doors are now standard practice at British racecourses. The three-day Grand National fixture in Liverpool, where more than 150,000 fans were expected from 2 April, has been cancelled.

We can only wonder about Champions’ Day – and, indeed, the Durban July.

France has shut down all racing. Australia, the US, Japan and Dubai have all gone crowd-less to various degrees. In Ireland, famous bookmaker Paddy Power and its rivals have pulled down the shutters in town centres.

Hong Kong has been racing to empty grandstands for about a month and is already starting to ease the restrictions as the local authorities reckon they’ve got Covid-19 licked.

For the coming weekend’s Hong Kong Derby race meeting at Sha Tin, a meticulous semi-quarantine regime is in place for visiting participants from other parts of the world – because the Hong Kongers are afraid the likes of Aussies and Poms will bring the virus horror back to the island enclave.

Visitors will not be allowed any proximity to locals other than on the race track itself. Isolated stables, separate change rooms and cordoned-off eating areas will be enforced. Even trainer-jockey parade ring strategising is limited to a few seconds.

After the mercurial developments of the past few weeks, is it far-fetched to say we’ll go a similar route?

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