Two prominent KZN racing men have passed away.
Johb Bescoby, a passionate owner and breeder and a former chairman of Gold Circle, passed away on Saturday March 15.
Tony Jelinski has been prominent in KZN racing recently due to his immense enthusiasm and he also passed away suddenly over the weekend.
Tony hardly missed a day of visiting his horses at the Mike Miller yard at Summerveld and never missed their races.
John Bescoby was the joint chairman of Gold Circle with Vidrik Thurling at a time when Gold Circle also operated in the Western Cape.
He was chairman from early 2009 to early 2011 and KZN racing was in a healthier state when he departed than what it had been.
Among his innovations was an excellent relationship he enjoyed with Box 3A Racing, who were the face of youth in KZN racing. and this led to a number of racemeetings where Box 3A Racing brought hundreds of youths to the racecourse where they were given access to the Classic Room.
These evenings provided great insight to the sport for many newcomers and led to a number of convertees and Box 3A had also submitted proposals to help attract youth to the course on a more regular basis.
However, the momentum for this fledgling entity was lost when John’s chaimanship ended.
John had been in the travel business at the time of becoming chairman and his former business associates penned the following tribute to him today:
It is with great sadness and regret that we must report the sudden passing of John Bescoby, a long-standing Director of Chobe, in South Africa on Saturday the 15th March 2025. John was a certified banker by profession but made his mark as one of Africa’s great travel pioneers holding senior positions across the tourism value chain.
A former Managing Director of Magnum Airlines, John’s deep connection with Chobe began when Afro Ventures, of which he was Managing Director, took a shareholding in Desert & Delta Safaris. Afro Ventures was later acquired by CC Africa, now &Beyond. First appointed to the Chobe Board in 2012, John was an independent non-executive director and dedicated Chairman of Audit and Risk Committee and member of Human Resources and Remuneration Committee where his sage advice and good counsel, gleaned from his vast experience, was enormously valued by all. Away from tourism John was passionate about horse racing, a long-time owner, and former Gold Circle Chairman. Above all else, John cared deeply for people and made a significant positive impact on many of lives, and we remember him for that.
Chobe Holdings Limited
John also became well known in horseracing due to being a member of the Shanks Syndicate, who raced the top class five-time Gr 1-winning superstar Beach Beauty.
He and his wife Janette were also members of a partnership in the KZN breeding operation Backworth Stud.
More will likely be said about John in the ensuing days as he is known by many to have gone beyond the call of duty when chairman of Gold Circle.
Tony Jelinski’s passion for horseracing can be gleaned from the below pair of Turf Talk articles.
