Black participation in horse racing gets on track. Photo: Thinkstock
Share ownership syndicates put in place to attract black participants to the world of horse breeding and horse racing are beginning to show results.
Black ownership in this arena was previously unheard of.
The industry has long been regarded as the domain of the very rich. And in South Africa, race was added to that equation, restricting black entrants.
The only participation of black people in the industry was through horse betting, which in South Africa is a multimillion-rand business.
According to a report by PwC, in 2011 horse racing accounted for 78% of the total gross sports betting revenue in South Africa, generating R1.7bn of the R2.2bn the entire sports betting industry earned that year.
But in recent years the role of black people in the industry has changed, both in terms of ownership and participation.
The recent win of S’Manga Khumalo in the prestigious Vodacom Durban July – he was the first black jockey to win the race – is testament to the strides that black participation has made in horse racing in South Africa.
In the past two years, the number of black horse-owners has climbed to 200.
The CEO of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Tom Callaghan, says that close to a third of the industry is now black owned. He also says efforts have been put in place to encourage greater diversity in ownership.
“Thirty percent of our owners are from black, Indian, Asian and Chinese communities,” Mr Callaghan says. – BD Live
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