National Horseracing Authority
Encyclopedia
The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa, formerly the Jockey Club of Southern Africa, is the Southern African equivalent of the American
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...
and British
Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial organisation in British horseracing. Although no longer responsible for the governance and regulation of the sport, it owns 14 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham and Newmarket, amongst other concerns such as the National Stud and...
Jockey Clubs. The name change came into effect on 19 January 2004. The organisation is established by Act of Parliament in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and regulates the thoroughbred horse racing industry in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Their motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
is "maintaining the integrity of the sport of horse racing". Their primary source of funding is Phumelela and Gold Circle, the two South African horse racing companies.
Overview
The exciting, colourful pageant of horse racing is conducted at racecourses throughout South Africa and in Zimbabwe. These courses are owned by race clubs which are not only responsible for organising and publicising the races and also making sure that the fans are provided with a full programme of entertainment and enough to eat and drinkCatering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
. But behind all the glamour and excitement of horse racing, there is another organisation that works hard to ensure that the sport is clean and that everybody is given a fair deal. This organisation is The National Horseracing Authority, headquartered at Turffontein Racecourse
Turffontein Racecourse
Turffontein Racecourse is a race track in South Africa for Thoroughbred horse racing founded in 1887 at Turffontein, Gauteng by the Johannesburg Turf Club...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
The main purpose of The National Horseracing Authority was summarised rather well by George Pfaff, the Club's secretary in 1959. He wrote:
- "The main object of the Jockey Club and the principal occupation of the Stewards is to promote honourable practice and to repress malpractices. One constantly hears of racing scandals and intrigues. That cry has been heard for centuries. Malpractice in racing does occur - if it did not there would be no need for the Jockey Club or its officials. It is said that all crooks go racing but not all those who go racing are crooks. Ninety-five percent of the trouble is caused by five percent of the people engaged in it, and it is this five per cent who make all the noise".
The name "The Jockey Club" is somewhat misleading and often causes some confusion because it is not an association for the jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
s, who courageously, urge their mounts towards the finish. In the 18th century, "jockey" referred to anybody who managed, or had anything to do with, horses. It was in 1882 that a group of 10 influential racing men got together in the Phoenix Hotel
Phoenix Hotel
The Phoenix Hotel was a historical structure located on East Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was established in the 1820s and became a prominent landmark as well as the oldest hostelry by succession in the area...
in Port Elizabeth to form an organisation, "so that all disputes in connection with various turf clubs might be referred thereto, and its decision became law". The organisation became known as The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...
, named after its counterpart in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that had been established some 100 years earlier.
Racing is not only controlled on a national level but also on a regional level and, in order to exercise proper control, South Africa is divided into four racing districts with Zimbabwe constituting the fifth. In all, there are 670 members who are responsible for electing the 11 Head Executive Stewards who head the Jockey Club structure.
The existence of the Jockey Club and the multi-faceted control it exercises over the racing industry, coupled with the fact that it is recognised internationally, heralds an exciting and ethical future for the industry in South Africa.
Rules and inquiries
Horse racing, like any other sport, is governed by a comprehensive set of rules. These rules are designed to deal with all aspects of racing from insuring that the horses are properly cared for to serious malpractices like dopingDoping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
. In order to police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
these rules, the Jockey Club employs a number of Stipendiary Stewards, or "Stipes" for short. The Stipes are present at every race meeting and use sophisticated video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
equipment to help them pick up any incident that might need investigating.
Inquiries are opened into any matter which appears to be suspicious and if anybody is found guilty of breaking the rules, the Stipes have the power to impose penalties ranging from a reprimand to a total ban from racing. If a person, who was found guilty of breaking the rules, feels that he was treated unfairly by the Stipes, he or she can appeal to the Appeal Board. Because the Appeal Board is an independent body, it can ensure that fair play is observed.
The Jockey Club has its own laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
that tests specimens from horses selected in every race. The laboratory uses the latest techniques and ultra-modern equipment to look for wide diversity of drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
. The screening of specimens is so successful that some people are saying that it is too sensitive and is picking up minute quantities of drugs that could not possibly have had an effect on a horse!
Licensing
An important part of the control exercised by the Jockey Club is the licensing of jockeys, trainers and race meeting officials such as the starter, the handicapper, the clerk of the scales, the judge and, also the granting of colours to anybody who qualifies to own and race, horses.Computerised administrative records are kept of over 270 trainers, 200 jockeys and apprentices, 9000 owners and 8000 horses in training. The Registrations Department also records over 10 000 renewals, changes of horse ownership's and leases each year.
Breeding
The control exercised by the Jockey Club extends to the horse breedingHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
industry as well. Before any thoroughbred foal can be recorded in the Jockey Club's General Stud Book, the mare owner, stallion owner, mare and stallion must have been registered before the foal was born. The breeder must also provide detailed information relating to the time the mare was covered, the time the foal was born and the identity of the foal.
To remove any doubt about the identity of the foal a laboratory at Onderstepoort blood types every foal and confirms that its parents are those claimed by the breeder. When millions of Rands are spent at the annual yearling sales, buyers can rest assured that the horse that they bought has the pedigree for which they paid.
Jockey Academy
The Jockey Club's role doesn't stop there, it also recruits and trains apprentice jockeys. The original Academy, founded in 1958, was situated in a house on the Berea – a suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. In 1972, the magnificent S A Jockeys Academy designed by the well-known rugby player, Tommy Bedford, was opened on 8.1 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of land adjacent to Summerveld. Built to cater for 40 apprentices, the number of apprentices is determined by the needs of the racing industry.
During the five years as an apprentice, the youngsters are given a comprehensive education as well as taught the necessary skills to become a competent rider. The success of the academy is highlighted by the achievements of champion jockeys such as Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts (jockey)
Michael Roberts is a South African jockey currently residing in Suffolk, England, with his wife Verna and two daughters, Melanie and Carolyn. Roberts has had a successful career, winning many English and South African races multiple times. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey in 1992...
, Jeffrey Lloyd, Felix Coetzee
Felix Coetzee
Felix Coetzee is a jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.Felix Coetzee was the son of a KwaZulu-Natal trainer and his grandfather was an owner-trainer. As a fifteen year old, Felix Coetzee attended the Jockey Academy at Summerveld then served his apprenticeship with his father's racing stable...
, Robbie Sham and Bartie Liesher.