Carol Tshabalala’s new racing role is no walk in the park

Popular presenter Carol Tshabalala was saying all the right things after her appointment last week as Hollywoodbets latest brand ambassador. The broadcast veteran is entering a new sport and she is probably unaware that a 2021 UK survey  revealed that 32% of respondents said racing should be banned.

Commenting on her appointment, Tshabalala, an anchor for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, said: “It is hard to describe how excited I am to begin this beautiful journey with Hollywoodbets. Over the years I have seen how the company has grown to be the leading betting operator in the country and has now become a rising force in the sports betting field on a global scale.

“Hollywoodbets has its heart set on making a positive difference in their communities through various initiatives and the Hollywood Foundation,” she said.

If Tshabalala is indeed going to succeed in attracting communities to the sport, she needs to be told some home truths that she has a mountain to climb if SA is similar to the UK.

In the UK survey, 43% of respondents were indifferent to the sport. That is a stunning percentage even allowing for the countrywide popularity of football.

Not surprisingly, this has galvanised Great British Racing (GBR) into action and some of its ideas might benefit racing in SA.

It revealed that in 2019 racing was running hard to stay still, with attendances declining gradually after a decade of record crowds.

GBR CEO Rod Street said: “To help redress this and fight for racing’s share of the leisure market, we’ll be running a consideration campaign in 2022 to increase attendances. This remains the biggest opportunity for racing based on market size and the fact that attending race days will result in greater engagement in areas such as ownership.

“As part of a new campaign to increase attendances as part of its 2022 strategy, the target audience will be people between 25 and 34.

“During the past 18 months, we have undertaken consumer research which gives us confidence that, despite some of the challenges, awareness of racing remains high. The main target will be holding the total attendance in the third quarter of the year at the 2019 level of 1.95-million people.”

SA racing got a boost with the victory in the Met and Durban July by Kommetdieding — a horse owned by Ashwin Reynolds, the first person of colour to win the latter race.

But it is interesting to note that the Sporting Post said that “while Met day was a resounding success in many ways, we continue to ask questions about the underlying business model, beyond the glitz and glam”.

Having covered the Met at Kenilworth for Business Day with fast food outlets at the track few and far between (people need feeding), this writer can testify that there was plenty of glitz and glam but mainly confined to hospitality areas.

The days of the happy once-a-year racegoer — J&B whisky in hand — remain a distant memory yet these are the people Tshabalala will need to target to succeed in her new role.