Do you think racing in S.A. is straight???

fingers wrote: if you don't think racing is "straight", how can you possibly gamble on it?

.....it is a gamble because there is a factor of limited certainty.....however one can become better skilled if there is better knowledge and understanding.....knowing how horses behave and react is a good start.... :huh:.....trying to manipulate or alter equine behavior is called training or conditioning and some do it better than others....but for starters one would need better genetic specimens to work with to have better consistency....then comes the many variables....conditions of racing surfaces....climate, travelling, temperatures temperament, feed, supplements, fitness general well being....and then the many many human factors....patience perseverance, planning and plotting and I can go on and on...and then of that, the one on top....how is his mood on the day or in that instant....just by skimming over the bigger picture....so when one asks if racing is straight... how does one bend it by trying to manipulate the many variables....one may try but will be never certain of the outcome..... :whistle:

In any system or organisation, when only a minority are involved in underhanded activity, there is swift and decisive action to deal with it and to prevent it from occurring in future.

However, when a system or organisation is substantially corrupt and there's an unspoken understanding of allowing each other to continue in unsavoury practices, there is always a very slow and usually highly ineffective response to any outside attempt of highlighting/ correcting such practices.

This explains why institutions like our government, RA etc behave the way they do.

Well said Magi.lol

About as straight as Elton John!

This question is relevant only insofar as it influences people who are NOT involved in racing at present; because it it those individuals that the sport would like to attract into the 'game' as fresh betting or ownership fodder.

My guess is that the vast majority of that group are undecided or lean towards believing it is less than honest. So they give it a miss.

Its Bent pretty much like racing all over the world.

Starts on the farms and ends on some dusty road in a township.

All along those paths you will find practises by some that are scandalous. Of course there are some that operate ethically and morally but by in large there are schemes the whole way from the farm to the end.

I think its generally straight but its also the kind of industry where it does attract all sorts for many different reasons , some inevitably crooked as it gets.
You have people who genuinely love horses grouped with people who only have interest in them as a way to make money.
An uneducated generally moronic individual can be right as often as a highly educated thinker In this game.
People who would never rub shoulders in any other social sphere end up partners of sorts.

There are people who work their way in to the industry, and end up in positions they probably should not be in. Making decisions they probably shouldn't, possibly influenced by some of the powerful individuals around them who are only too happy to gain an advantage.

There is lots of incompetence and people making money for doing very little, while others graft away for little reward.

Inevitably where there is money, opportunity, grey areas and loopholes to exploit, there will be an attraction to the morally and actually corrupt, but to lable racing "bent" would be incorrect.

To quote a famous Trainer, now deceased :

"not everyone in racing is a crook, but all crooks are in racing ".......