Yvette Bremner

Have the horses arrived in KZN?

"Yvette Bremner has killed over 30 racehorses in 2019 alone,” says groom.


Stabling not stabbing: For many Grooms at Fairview stable there is no light at the end of the tunnel. PHOTO: Wara Fana


According to Fairview grooms both horses and grooms are easily dispensable and it is widely accepted the fate of a horse whose racing career is over is shot and sent to the local Seaview Predator Park as food for the lions. A the same time grooms have no labour rights and no work contracts, safety requirements, sick leave or holiday pay.

GROOMS AND HORSES JUST A MEANS TO AN END
Dismissed horse grooms from Dippin Blue Racing stables owned by Bremner and her partner FH MacGrath have opened Pandora’s box in the inner dealings of the horse race industry at Fairview. The grooms were dismissed after a labour dispute that led to the accidental death of a racehorse at Fairview Racecourse in Port Elizabeth on the 17 of September. The grooms claim that the racing industry culls horses at a very high rate and that this is common practice. They are talking out after reading reports that they tortured and mutilated horses during their recent protest.


Sebenzile Mhambi shows the place where Mark the Doorman jumped the fence and broke his neck after hearing gunshots from Nitrous Security shooting at local protesters at Fairview shacks. PHOTO: Wara Fana

“We have seen reports where it is said that we killed a horse with our pangas or we slashed or smashed it. We love these animals we would never hurt them” says Sebenzile Mhabi, a former groom at Bremner’s stables. “We were just asking for justice that day and it was unfortunate that that horse died, but he was running away from the security that was shooting at us. It just freaked out and tried to jump the fence back to the stable and landed on its head after not clearing the fence entirely. But it is shocking that no one cares about the many horses Yvette [Bremner] kills without any proper reason,” says Mhambi. Mhambi claims that Yvette was training about 112 horses at the time of the labour dispute.


Fairview Shacks in Ward 40 : Over 250 households occupy this area with no electricity or toilets. The locals are forced to use the forest as their toilet. PHOTO: Wara Fana.

Sitting outside the local shop in Fairview Shacks some of the grooms who were fired from Dippin Blue Stables open their hearts about their conditions. “The horses live better than us. Here we have no electricity and toilets and now no food. This community has existed over 30 years and no one is helping us,” says Nkosbonile Maquthela. “The only thing we are common with the horses is that we are both easily dispensable”.
The grooms allege that if as a worker you are someone who always has family problems or you are always ill, you get fired or get replaced quickly. “It is the same with the horses if the horse is not winning and not living up to its potential it gets shot,” says Maquthela who was shot with a live bullet in his leg during the protest.
Most of the grooms around Fairview are from the former Transkei homeland and “maybe that’s the reason they do not care about us “ says Maquthela who started working for Bremner from the age of 16 years, eight years ago.

THE LION PARK FRENZY
A major recipient of the horses that are put down at Fairview Racecourse is Seaview Predator Park where Fairview Racecourse is listed as a sponsor of the park. Workers and volunteers at Seaview Predator Park confirm that they are called out to the racecourse almost on a daily basis to collect horses that have been 'put out'.


Not a hungry lion : Seaview Predator Park has about 55 predators which a fed horse meat from Fairview and surrounding farms. The Lion Park needs about 9 horses a week to feed its predators.

The Seaview Predator Park or Lion Park as it is called by the locals is situated in Seaview, a coastal scenic suburb. It was in the news about six years ago when allegations of canned hunting and bone selling emerged and rocked the business. These allegations were denied by the owners, Janice and Rusty Gibb. On arrival at the Park Shop written on the wall is a number of sponsors and Fairview is one of them. According to the Park Manager, Joanne Meiring, who confirmed that they have a good relationship with Fairview Racecourse which is about 7km from the park. The park has about 55 predators, “We need about 9 horses a week. We feed the tigers twice a week and lions once,” said the manager. Talking about the incident of Fairview she detailed the tragedy of the whole incident and how it affected them. “Mark the Doorman, the horse that died was worth about R2 million. We could not feed him to the lions as his stomach had burst, he is buried here in the park. Can you believe it? Meiring says that she gets the horses for free.

Killing horses is part of the game




The killing range is very close to the stables . We were chased away by security when they discovered we were journalists. Photo: Wara Fana

According to many in the racing community, the culling of horses is standard practice in order to keep a positive balance on the balance sheet. Horses are expensive to feed and train and the minute they are no longer viable, then they are killed. According to groom Maquthela, Bremner is the worst. “Last year alone I think she killed around 30 horses and this year I hear it has been even more; since lockdown especially.” Sebenzile Mhambi who has been working for the stables for more than 20years added that every horse is insured.
Speaking to the grooms inside the stables at Fairview revealed that horses are put down for four reasons: “If the horse is old, if the horse is injured in a race, if the horse is sick, and if the horse is not winning and is costly to keep it. Sometimes a week will go by without horse being killed but sometimes it becomes a lot in a day; there was a lot during the lockdown as they were costing owners money and not racing.”

The grooms also detailed how horses are ill-treated. “The whip that is used by the jockeys is very sore and sometimes can slash the flesh of the horse. The horse’s tongues are tied down during the time of the race and during practice causing distress, anxiety and pain. A practice that is banned in Germany. “This sometimes swells the tongue and makes it difficult for the horse to swallow,” says Zengaze Mpotye who has been working for Bremner for 19 years. It was further alleged by the grooms that racehorses are highly strung from the high caloric food they are fed, and sometimes they are fed enhancing drugs. According to SportingPost, Yvette Bremner was found guilty of doping in 2017. “These horses are always locked up and cannot move free because they will hurt themselves as they are crazy and souped-up,” says Mpotye. It was for this reason that the grooms opened the horse’s stable doors in protest in September knowing that this would get Bremner’s attention.

THE INITIAL LABOUR DISPUTE
The initial labour dispute started when one of the grooms accidentally cut a horse who was skittish while having his mane trimmed around the 6th of February 2020. According to a statement signed by the workers when Yvette Bremner found out about the cut, she dismissed Abongile Ndarhana. “We as Abongile’s collegues went to Yvette to apologise for him as this was a mistake and we requested to pay the veterinarian fees which she claimed to be R11 000. We also couldn’t understand this amount as the horse did not even need stiches”. The workers allege that the request was refused and instead they were all chased away and thus dismissed. “On the 22 February she called us and gave us our annual leave money. We asked her for UIF forms to claim our UIF money. Till that day she has refused to give us our forms. We decided to take the matter to CCMA. When we received a message from our lawyer on the 16 of September saying we have lost the case we went to Yvette’s stables the following day to stop anyone working there till she pays us. It was during this moment unfortunately one of the horses ran away from the stables and died near our home. It was when the owner of the stable Macgrath and Nitrous Security came to our homes and started shooting and injuring community members that we went back to Yvette’s stables and opened the gate for all horses which then they ran away. We were angry,” the statement reads.

Fairview Racecourse is managed and operated by Phumelele Gaming. According to the manager, Luciono Pestarino Fairview has 704 stables with 13 trainers managing the stables. The grooms are estimated to number close to around 250 being paid R1120 a week. “This was labour dispute. It is our duty to solve this amicably.”

Money Talks


Grooms putting the horses through their paces
According to Catherine Hartley CEO of Thorough Breeders of South Africa, the horse race industry is a billion-dollar business. “It is like a stock market, where individual and institutional investors come together to buy and sell,” says Hartley. Hartley says that racehorses need to come from strong breeding lines. “A horse is an athlete and needs to look good, it needs to have strong legs, hinds and be versatile. Its registration licence should talk for itself. That in itself determines the price of the horse, the pedigree.” Hartley maintains that the cost to keep a Thoroughbred horse can be between R12000 to R20 000 a month. “This includes stabling, bedding, grooming, vet fees, training, food, nominate fees and jockey fees”. It is alleged that these kinds of horses are insured from R50 000 to R4 million. “The pedigree of the horse that is the cost price and current value determines how much is paid on the insurance.” It takes between a year to five years for a horse to reach its sell-by date. “The horse betting industry is shrinking fast and it becomes difficult to care for horses. Once they have completed their racing career they are either retired as studs, polo horses or showjumping horses”, says Hartley "But when no buys the horse then it's an expense and heads to lion park", says Mpotye.

Eastern Cape Care Unit coordinator Carla Hazel knows that Fairview Racecourse kills a lot of horses. “We do not know how many they kill, but what can we do? This a sport with a lot of money. Money talks my friend.” It is alleged that the horses are shot and chopped into pieces and loaded into big containers. “Every day the Lion Park bakkie is at Fairview,” says Mhambi.

PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have launched a worldwide campaign against horse racing in September 2020 labelling racehorses as “victims of a multibillion-dollar industry that is rife with drug abuse, injuries, race fixing and many horses ending up at the slaughterhouse”. PETA calls for: Racing regulations to be reformed and enforced. Zero tolerance drug policy, ban on whipping, competitive racing only after a horse’s 3rd birthday.

By the time we published Yvette Bremner and her partner FH MacGrath were yet to answer questions asking how many horses were euthanized last year and how much in insurance payments was received. The labour dispute is far from over with the affected grooms still pursuing their UIF money. Their case with the CCMA is set to be finalised next week. “It is difficult for us but we are sure things will change. One thing I know in this is that anyone who makes money through animals does not care about animals to him they are just a product. And that is how I feel as an employee as well. I am no different to the horse in this case”, a limping Maquthule laments as he walks to his shack, a place he calls home.

mikesack wrote:

Press wrote: I hope the idiot has been arrested for animal cruelty... Nobody seems to say anything about the innocent horse who got stabbed - its all about what the humans will lose, not the suffering that this poor animal had to endure.

Wonder what prompted the groom to attack the animal? And for the other grooms to follow. Would be interesting to get the other sides of the story.
In the meantime the bonus given by Hollywood bets to winning grooms is a big big plus , maybe other regions should be included?

There's another side to every story...………………………?:ohmy:

And while some were concerned about finding Legal Eagle pulling carts in Soweto by the look of the report it looks like he could have suffered a more tragic death and ended as lions feed 😩 as the saying goes " all that glitters is not gold" and if this report has any elements of truth that this was happening without proper authorisation surely surely this requires investigation and prosecution

.....there is noting unethical about culling race horses as it happens more often than not...... injuries happen very often in work and in races.....and these days the cost of recuperation and an operation are far bigger than the cost of keep and the potential stakes that a horse can earn when back from being away from racing....hard call but a hard fact. :ohmy:

......and further the deaths seem a bit exaggerated.....NHRA records all deaths and one can check if the grooms are telling more yarns than the amount very well fed lions.....:huh:

And the culling reason eg injury you were able to deduce from the above report or one that hasn't been officially released ? Although never presume guilt either should one look for mitigation. Let the facts speak for themselves I reckon

....the article that has been copied and pasted is full of exaggeration and the writer has honed much of the content from other internet articles that were never proven as factual....I hope that someone sues his arse when the so called facts are investigated....:dry: ..

....Mark The Doorman....was worth ZAR2BAR.....please where does this come from.....an insurance claim.....:dry:

......the article is riddled with many of these sorts of inaccuracies....like the CEO of the TBA....Ms Hartley is the CEO of Breed Affairs....but journalists these days are reporting far from fact....and taking info gleaned from social media like Facebook....:whistle:

Article interviewing one of the grooms involved, with snippets from other articles

What a load of shite

....those that can see the original stabbing photo would concur...... that was no accident.....but sheer malice ...the only truth is the living conditions of the grooms .....which after official investigation should be addressed and remedied....:huh: .

Muhtiman wrote: ....those that can see the original stabbing photo would concur...... that was no accident.....but sheer malice ...the only truth is the living conditions of the grooms .....which after official investigation should be addressed and remedied....:huh: .

There is no justification for attacking these animals - By all means make a human chain across the racecourse holding up banners or handcuff yourself to the starting stalls or block all the entrances to totes but hurting animals is insane and will curry no favor with me. The union or lack of a union is to blame as are the stakeholders that allowed these people to live in squalor when money was there to fix the situation- I find it offensive in the extreme that the NHRA has not punished these offenders(including the alleged trainers that misused funds meant to uplift grooms) yet they continue to worry about small infractions just to bring money into their coffers - Vee should hang his head in shame if he is capable of that emotion.