THEY HAVE PROBABLY DONE ME A FAVOUR!

I am a lot more relaxed about recent developments in racing than the majority of posters.

For a l-o-n-g time I have felt uncomfortable and untrusting punting horses even though my activity is now a pale shadow of what it used to be in previous years.

The operator has perhaps forced me into rehab as I have little or no intention of 'punting without a picture'. Even if Father Christmas shows up with a decoder (or whatever) for international racing (which is pretty much all I am prepared to bet on) the rules of my sectional title complex will not allow me to erect another dish alongside the present DSTV fixture. And maybe that's a good thing because, when you consider it, do you actually know of any/many people who have come out of racing financially better off than when they went in? If you wish to play the 'fun' card by way of a justification then may I suggest that you have a VERY expensive taste for 'fun'. We punt because we BELIEVE (rightly or wrongly) that we will WIN.

Out of curiosity I went into Interbet (as I do about 95% of all my horse punting there) to see what miniscule impact my departure from horse punting might have on the operator's financial well being. Despite my lame protestations about how little horse punting I do I was quite surprised to learn that in the period Jan - Dec 2013 the operator benefitted directly to the tune of R 83,891-50 from my winning bets.

But - no matter. I am happy to take it on the chin. There is a big, wide world of alternative wagering activities out there which elicit a far stronger frisson of excitement for me than Flamingo Park, Durbanville, Scottsville, Fairview, The Vaal Sand to name but a few (or is that most of them given that so many of the better ones have closed?).

What I find a great deal more disconcerting is predicting where this new 'profit from every division' mindset will turn next. Clearly one of the most obvious and vulnerable options is to cut back on subsidies; for example - remove subsidized stabling. That will produce a decent return on fixed assets and possibly help to alleviate the shortage of boxes that we hear so much about. Think about it - why is the operator subsidizing the premises of individuals who train for commercial reasons? A bit odd, isn't it?

A lot of people hailed Phumelela as the saviour of racing. But in doing so I think many of us forgot to buy a long spoon.

But right now it is what it is. I'll watch with interest but am determined not to spend too much emotional energy on it.

As the saying goes:

The one that stirs the shit pot has to lick the spoon