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Picture: A full field of horses for a low grade staying race in KZN storm past the post for the first time (Candiese Lenferna). 

 

Greg Bortz has explained that the programming of racing in the Western Cape to cater for lower rated horses and thus stop the “bleed” of horses away from the jurisdiction was a “chicken and egg” situation so would not be easy to implement. 

He also explained that the time period of a year set aside to give Kenilworth racecourse a facelift was a precautionary measure and he hoped it would be completed sooner. 
 
Because of the previous bleed of racehorses away from the Western Cape, there are relatively few lower rated horses in the jurisdiction when compared to jurisdictions like the Highveld where a sound mid-60’s merit rated horse can look forward to a long career.
 
The programming in the Western Cape is thus going to have to put on enough lower rated races to enable the population of lower rated horses to build and to prevent them from leaving for greener pastures. 
 
The various incentives put in place will help the cause.
 
Keeping maiden winners in the Cape will also be vital.
 
Cape Town has a much higher volume of two-year-olds than any other province, so keeping those horses in the jurisdiction as three and four-year-olds will be the key to increasing the population.
 
Keeping the maiden winners of a class not previously seen as good enough to be competitive in Cape Town will likely be the immediate key to building the population of lower rated horses. 
 
The common overseas practice, but rare South African one, of running maidens in handicaps could also help. 
 
Bortz has already explained earlier this week that there were not going to be many cosmetic changes to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth that would be immediately visible to racegoers, but instead there would chiefly be necessary infrastructure changes like fixing rooves as well as addressing plumming issues and making sure the multi-million rand generators are in good working order etc.
 
He reckoned Cape Town’s flagship racecourse would look like a construction site through November, but hopefully by the time of  Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas day the scaffolding etc. would no longer be necessary.