CAR RACE HOT SPOT 1 & TRAINING RACE 7 -

[willie reynolds]

CAR RACE HOT SPOT 1 & TRAINING RACE 7.

LIVESTREAM was available for this race for the first time in this 2013/14 race series and will be used for every race from now on. This means that you can log on to the official web site:- www.samdpr.com and watch the pigeons arriving at the lofts as they fall out of the sky. I logged on early to my computer and sat waiting to watch the pigeons arrive on my computer and dead on 06.20 (GMT), (08.20 SA time) and the first small gang arrived at 08.30 (SA) followed very quickly by two more small gangs. It was quite clear at this time that this was going to be a tough race as the pigeons were not arriving in massive gangs, however once again it was fantastic to be able to look at the pigeons homing live, sitting nearly 6,000 miles away from the lofts. This really is new modern technology at its best. It was noted as I watched the pigeons arriving that the wind was getting up as the palm tree in the garden was really bending with the strong wind. It was also noted that some of the pigeons were finding it difficult to land on the lofts because of the very strong wind.

CAR RACE HOT SPOT 1 took place on Saturday 16th November 2013 from 138km (86 miles) and yet another world record breaking 4,881 pigeons were basketed from 40 different countries, this staggering total was made up by 343 South African pigeons and 4,538 International pigeons and this included 372 from the United Kingdom and 67 from Ireland.

The convoy were liberated at 06.30 in fine and cloudy conditions, moderate head wind, temperature of 24c (75f) and a good steady tough race was anticipated. A further weather update at 09.25 was that the wind had picked up and it was now a very strong head wind and temperature of 25c (77f). As the day progressed the temperature was due to rise to 33c (94f).

It should probably be mentioned that in the same race last year a total of 3,814 pigeons were sent, so this means that an extra 1,067 more pigeons made it to this CAR HOT SPOT RACE this year than the same race during last year. Surely this just goes to prove that by being careful with the pigeons in the early training tosses pays dividends in the end. The Loft Managers and Staff have done a magnificent job during these early tosses in very poor weather conditions.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN goes to SI SE PUEDE FARM LLC from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named GOOD SHOT, which was officially clocked at 08.30.15.16 to record a velocity of 1261ypm (43mph), performances to date were 850th, 4258th, 7th, 637th, 190th and now 1st OPEN, 2nd Karl ZIEFLE FROM Germany,
3rd Tage Gravesen from Denmark, 4th Birger S Anderson from Denmark, 5th Team DB7 from Germany, 6th A and R Team from Australia, 7th Piotr Surowiec from United States Of America, 8th Wouters – Debecker from Belgium, 9th Xiang Green from China, 10th Mohamed Rasam from Kuwait, 11th Team Stieneker – Abrams from Germany, 12th Ganus Family Loft from United States Of America, 13th Abdullah Bin Jameai from Kuwait, 14th Nemelka – McCormick – Full Turn from United States Of America, 15th Gottlieb Poeckl from Austria, 16th Fayez Q8 from Kuwait, 17th Ter Aar Syndicate from Netherlands, 18th Glendas Loft from South Africa, 19th Team Germany – Toni Deigner from Germany and 20th The Jones Boys and PJs Loft from United States Of America. The top twenty in this result were separated by just 1 minute and 40 seconds and had 10 different countries represented. This race resulted in only 3,039 pigeons being officially recorded by 19.00, leaving 1,842 pigeons to make it back to the lofts by nightfall. Pigeons started arriving on Sunday morning from 05.30 and by 09.29 the total home had risen to 3,543 pigeons, which meant that a further 504 had been officially clocked. By 12.11 a total of 703 pigeons had returned making the total now 3,742. A further 109 pigeons returned during Sunday afternoon and by 18.30, the total had risen to 3,851 pigeons in total had returned which meant that 1,030 were still missing.

***THE BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR*** went to the pigeon that won 3rd OPEN for TAGE GRAVESEN from DENMARK with his pigeon named TAGE, which had previously won 2160th, 429th, 243rd, 2277th, 544th and now 3rd OPEN in its first six races. CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS FANCIER ON THIS ACHIEVEMENT AND THIS IS THE FIRST CAR EVER TO BE WON BY A DANISH FANCIER IN THE SCMDPR OR SAMDPR. Once again it just goes to show how important it is to have your pigeon ACTIVATED as both the 1st & 2nd OPEN from an AMERICAN and a GERMAN fancier were NOT ACTIVATED, so were not eligible to win this coveted prize.

***THE NINETEEN US$1,000 (£645) HOT SPOT CASH PRIZES*** were won by pigeons that took 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th & 31st OPEN. It was amazing to see that the pigeons that actually won 1st, 2nd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 25th & 30th were NOT ACTIIVATED, which resulted in the owners of all these early pigeons not winning a US$1,000 cash prize. I have never seen a result in the past seventeen years where there were so many UN-ACTIVATED pigeons in the result. That meant that there were 5 fanciers from the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1 from GERMANY, 1 from AUSTRALIA, 1 from AUSTRIA, 2 from KUWAIT and 1 from NETHERLANDS that did not win a US$1,000 cash prize. SURELY, IF A PIGEON IS WORTH ENTERING INTO THE RACE AT THE START, THEN IT MUST BE WORTH ACTIVATING ONCE THEY GET TO THE CAR RACE HOT SPOTS? Still the 11 fanciers that won a bonus US$1,000 cash prize are now all highly delighted, meaning that these pigeons have now already paid for themselves already. It should be noted that the CAR WINNER does not receive a US$1,000 Cash Prize. For the full results see Results & Listings on SAMDPR Web Site www.samdpr.com

***THE TWO BIRD AVERAGE & US$2,000 (£1,290) CASH PRIZE*** 1st PRIZE was won by ABDULWAHAB ALI ALDAHOUM, TEAM A from KUWAIT with his two pigeons named ALDAHOUM LOFT SELECTION and ALDAHOUM SUPER which took 21st and 43rd OPEN. The best UNITED KINGDOM team took 3rd OPEN for PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, TEAM D administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with two pigeons named STANSTED BEAUTY and STANSTED TREASURE which took 83rd and 120th OPEN, both pigeons being bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from LAINDON. The best IRISH team took 92nd OPEN for JOS REILLY – TEAM IRELAND, TEAM E with two pigeons named JOS 15 and JOS 14 which took 357th and 1485th OPEN.

***THE THREE BIRD AVERAGE & US$3,000 (£1,935) CASH PRIZE*** 1st PRIZE was also won by ABDULWAHAB ALI ALDAHOUM, TEAM A from KUWAIT with his three pigeons named ALDAHOUM LOFT SELECTION, ALDAHOUM SUPER and WESTERN REBA which took 21st, 43rd and 437th OPEN. The best UNITED KINGDOM team took 3rd OPEN for PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, TEAM D, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with three pigeons named STANSTED BEAUTY, STANSTED TREASURE and STANSTED PRINCESS which took 83rd, 120th and 1786th OPEN and all being bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from LAINDON. The best IRISH team took 67th OPEN for PHILIP + MARK SMITH, TEAM D and with three pigeons named THE FLYER, THE GAP and THE DANCER which took 597th, 1466th and 3487th.

***SPECIAL NOTICE*** In the 18 years that this great international race has taken place I have never known a race like this where so many pigeons failed to home on the day from such a short distance. I have followed the results of all these races over the past 18 year and one always wonders what actually goes wrong. It was a 2 hour (43mph) race but after one hour of the winning pigeon being clocked only 868 pigeon had been officially recorded. I began to think why. The weather was OK but it was very windy. Was it that which made the pigeons struggle who knows? Yes, we can all have our ideas and theories why this happened but at the end of the day once those pigeons are liberated it is then up to them, nobody can assist or help them, they are on their own.

Then the Monday evening loft list showed that there were now 4,004 pigeons in the lofts, which meant that 877 were still missing from the Car Race Hot Spot 1. Sure a few more will work back in the next few days. Another loft listing was published on Wednesday 20th November and this showed 4,030 pigeons were now in the lofts and this total included 309 from United Kingdom and 55 from Ireland.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 40th OPEN went to JOHN BRADLEY from BILSTON with pigeon named BLUE SUPREME and which was officially clocked at 08.34.37.78 just 4 minutes and 22 seconds behind the actual race winner, this pigeon had already won 1778th, 3368th, 2107th, 4461st, 3730th and now 40th OPEN,
2nd UK, 65th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 3rd UK, 67th Open Crammond and Langstaff from Fontwell, 4th UK, 79th Open Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven, 5th UK, 83rd Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 6th UK, 106th Open Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from Ackworth, past winner of 1st Open in 2007 with East Of Eden, 7th UK, 113th Open Len Rix from Mildenhall, 8th UK, 114th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with another pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 9th UK, 117th Open Lanoak Lone Rangers with pigeon bred by Kevin Foster from Longfield Hill, 10th UK, 120th Open another Paul Smith Syndicate with another pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 11th UK, 129th Open The Royal Lofts of Her Majesty The Queen and bred at the lofts in Sandringham by Peter Farrow who is the Royal Loft Manager, 12th UK, 154th Open Carlos Dream Syndicate and as the name implies this syndicate was entered by Paul Smith, Eamon Kelly and Jos Reilly to keep the name in the race of the late Carlo Napolitano who was the past Royal Loft Manager before his untimely death and this winning pigeon was bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin,
13th UK, 179th Open Fairways Lofts with pigeon bred by Steve Burton from Pinxton, who entered 12 pigeons this year and still had 12 out of 12 left for today’s race, 14th UK, 181st Open Ultimate Collection with pigeon bred by Mark & Dickie Evans from Whitley Bridge, 15th UK, 186th Open yet another for Paul Smith Syndicate with the third pigeon in this result bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 16th UK, 188th Open Prettejohn & Underhill from Plymouth, 17th UK, 189th Open Guys Lofts with pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 18th UK, 220th Open Common View Lofts with pigeon bred by John Cooper from Pontypridd, this pigeon was well pooled and picked up some nice pool money (see below for more details), 19th UK, 223rd Open Charity Syndicate, entered by Jackie Swift from Hartlepool with pigeon bred for this team by Bob Fenech from Attleborough and 20th UK, 247th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with the fourth pigeon in this result bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough. This race resulted in only 224 pigeons being officially clocked by 19.00, leaving 148 UK pigeons still to make it back to base camp. Another 53 UK pigeons were recorded up to 12.11 making a total of 277. Another 13 made it by 19.30 on Sunday up to darkness, making 290 UK pigeons in the lofts but still leaving 82 missing. The Monday evening loft listing showed 307 UK pigeons had homed, leaving 65 still to make it back to the lofts. Another 2 UK pigeons returned to the lofts by Wednesday.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 97th OPEN went to HEPING YU with pigeon named MR DARCY, which was officially clocked at 08.36.35.88, just 6 minute and 20 seconds behind the actual race winner, this winning pigeon was actually bred by WG NEILL LOFTS and has already won 2 x 1st IRELAND two races on the trot and 741st, 2262nd, 1251st, 400th, 164th and now 97th Open, 2nd Ireland, 221st Open Boylan Lofts Ireland, 3rd Ireland, 235th Open Moran + Bowden, 4th Ireland, 330th Open Safat Duran, 5th Ireland, 357th Open Jos Reilly – Team Ireland
and 6th Ireland, 411th Open another for Moran + Bowden. This race resulted in only 42 Irish pigeons being officially clocked by 19.00, leaving 25 still to return to the lofts by darkness. Then up to 12.11 a further 13 Irish pigeons had homed making the total of 55 in the lofts. No more Irish pigeons homed during Sunday up to darkness, so this meant 12 Irish pigeons were still missing. The Monday evening loft listing still showed 55 Irish pigeon were in the lofts, which still meant that just 12 were missing.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS totalled US$10,350.45c (£6,900) and had a total of 417 pigeons entered, with 1,349 Nominations, which included 37pigeons from the UNITED KINGDOM and 3 pigeons from IRELAND.
There was two big winners in the UNITED KINGDOM in this race and they were COMMON VIEW LOFTS with pigeon named WELSH DRAGON, bred by JOHN COOPER from PONTYPRIDD, which took 220th OPEN and walked off with a cool US$2,295 (£1,530) and then EAMON KELLY from ABINGDON with pigeon named JAMIE RAY that took 667th OPEN and won a cool US$1,190 (£794), this pigeon has already won quite a bit of pool money over the early races. WELL DONE TO JOHN & EAMON, KEEP UP THE GOOD RESULTS GUYS.

REGIONAL NOMINATIONS in the UNITED KINGDOM had 14 pigeons entered and 57 nominations which totalled US$349.35c (£233) and this was won by COMMON VIEW LOFTS with pigeon named WELSH DRAGON and bred by JOHN COOPER from PONTYPRIDD, which took 220th OPEN winning US$349.35c (£233). WELL DONE TO JOHN COOPER.

CASCADE CHALLENGE was not won on TRAINING RACE 6, so for CAR RACE HOT SPOT 1 there was a massive record breaking total of US$17,079 (approx. £11,386) and a grand total of 418 pigeons were entered which included 38 from the United Kingdom and 6 from Ireland. The pigeon that actually took 1st OPEN for SI SE PUEDE FARM LLC from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with their pigeon named GOOD SHOT walked away winning this POT OF GOLD. WELL DONE TO THIS FANCIER FOR THIS REMARKABLE WIN. The nearest UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 120th OPEN for PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from LAINDON with pigeon named STANSTED TREASURE which was 5 minutes 21seconds off the race winner. The best IRISH pigeon took 1485th OPEN for JOS REILLY – TEAM IRELAND with their pigeon named JOS 14. THE STARTING FUND OF US$1,000 (£645) WILL BE UP FOR GRABS IN TRAINING RACE 7.

THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 6 races are as follows:- 1st MILAN MAZUCH from CZECH REPUBLIC with his pigeon named GADOR with a combined flying time of 06.04.16.26, leading by 1 minute 37 seconds after taking 88th, 51st, 397th, 22nd, 698th and now 76th OPEN in the first six races. The truly amazing fact is that there are a total of 13 different countries represented in the top 20 in this category. UNITED KINGDOM OVERALL AVERAGES after 6 races are as follows:- 1st & 2nd UK, 18th & 26th OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeons named LUCKY VISION & LUCKY STAR both bred by BOB FENECH from Attleborough and the leaders combined flying times of 06.29.08.29 and 06.31.48.97. LUCKY VISION was leading after taking 312th, 3659th, 1602nd, 525th, 421st and bow 98th OPEN in the first six races, Bob’s team of pigeons that he entered into this race are certainly holding their own in the first six races, 3rd UK, 32nd Open Common View Lofts with pigeon named Welsh Dragon and bred by John Cooper from Pontypridd with a combined flying time of 06.34.30.85. There were 8 UK pigeons in the top 88 in the Open in this category. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.
IRISH OVERALL AVERAGES after 6 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 11th OPEN HEPING YU with his pigeon named MR DARCY and bred by WG NEILL LOFTS with a combined flying time of 06.22.47.31 after taking 741st, 2262nd,1251st, 490th, 164th and 97th OPEN in the first six races. The next Irish pigeon holds 78th Open. WELL DONE GUYS.

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*** In the best interest of the pigeons the Race Committee have decided that the training schedule will be amended slightly to allow the pigeons to recover from this tough Car Race Hot Spot 1 on Saturday 16th November. In order to keep the pigeons in condition they will be trained from a distance of approximately 25km (16 miles) each day of this week. Then the Training Race 7 that was supposed to take place on Wednesday 20th November from 78km (48 miles) will now take place on Saturday 23rd November from approximately 78km (48 miles).
Training Race 8 that was supposed to take place on Wednesday 27th November from approximately 78km (48 miles) will now be cancelled and will be replaced by CAR RACE HOT SPOT 2 from approximately 175km (109 miles). This should help to build up extra confidence in the pigeons after this very testing race.

***THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION*** which carries a FIRST PRIZE of US$25,000 (£16,667) and is only open for pigeons that were fully paid for (ACTIVATED) prior to the Car Race Hot Spot 1. This fantastic competition attracted a record breaking total of 3,610 pigeons, which was made up by 214 South African pigeons, 3,396 International pigeons and this included 320 from the UNITED KINGDOM and 53 from IRELAND. The entry for this great competition in the 17th SAMDPR was 3,026 pigeons. The rules are as follows:- This competition will take place over the last four Car Race Hot Spot races and the Final Race. Only pigeons entered (ACTIVATED) prior to and basketed for the 1st Car Race Hot Spot will be eligible. Should any Car Race Hot Spot be cancelled one of the Training Races prior to the SAMDPR will be used to calculate the next round’s pigeons. Knocked Out pigeons still compete in all other competitions. KNOCKOUT ROUND 1 will be held on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 2 and the first 65% (2,347) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next round, KNOCKOUT ROUND 2 will be held on CAR RACE HOT SPOT 3 and the first 55% (1,291) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next race. KNOCKOUT ROUND 3 will be held on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and the first 35% (452) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next race. KNOCKOUT ROUND 4 will be held on CAR RACE HOT SPOT 5 and the first 20% (90) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next race. KNOCKOUT FINAL ROUND 5 will be held on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR FINAL RACE on SATURDAY 25th JANUARY 2014 and the first remaining KNOCKOUT PIGEON clocked on the result will win the coveted US$25,000 (£16,667) FIRST PRIZE. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

TRAINING RACE 7 was supposed to be held on Wednesday 20th November 2013 from 78km (48 miles) but was cancelled and now took place on Saturday 23rd November from 78km (48 miles) and another world record breaking total for this race of 4,112 pigeons from 40 different countries were basketed and this included 290 South African pigeons and 3,822 International pigeons and this figure included 318 from the United Kingdom and 55 from Ireland. A total of 3,392 pigeons were sent to this same race last year, so this year showed a massive increase of 720 more entries.

The convoy were liberated at 07.25 into little to no wind, fine and clear conditions and a temperature of 18c (64f) and a fairly fast race was anticipated. I did not log on to LIVESTREAM as I way away attending the Doncaster Old Comrades Show.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN goes to JOCHEN HUENTEN from GERMANY with pigeon named ALWAYS AFTERNOON, which was officially clocked at 08.14.38.94 to record a velocity of 1725ypm (59mph), performances to date are 1,716th, 517th, 2,409th, 661st, 897th, 499th and now 1st OPEN, 2nd Bernard Smyth – Gordon Brothers from Ireland, 3rd Team Ihr Lackdoktor from Germany, 4th Team Jauhal from United States Of America, 5th Defaulter Pigeon, 6th Dave Waddington from United States Of America, 7th Team Klotzbuecher-Steffl from Germany, 8th Hubert Kroenung from Germany, 9th To Be Won from United States Of America, 10th Team Flieger from Germany, 11th McLaughlin Lofts from United States Of America, 12th Altmiks + Soudy from Germany, 13th Karl-Heinz Stark from Germany, 14th Team Airfighter Tiggemann from Germany, 15th Mohammed Marzouq Al-Alwan from Kuwait, 16th Josh + Dean from South Africa, 17th Team Stieneker – Abrams from Germany, 18th Salem Alotaibi from Kuwait, 19th Team Heckl-Schueler-Schuering from Germany and 20th Gruessinger – Koffler from Germany. The top twenty were separated by just 21.76 seconds and there were 5 different countries represented in this result.

A total of 3,828 pigeons were officially clocked up to 18.54. This figure meant that a total of 284 pigeons had failed to make it back to the lofts before darkness. Sunday dawned and by 15.54 there were 3,945 pigeons in the lofts, leaving just 167 to make it back to base camp and by darkness there was 4,020 home, leaving just 92 missing.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 31st OPEN went to GUYS LOFTS ELITE and with pigeon named LITTLE BO PEEP and bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON, which was officially clocked at 08.15.06.55 just 27.61 seconds away from the actual race winner, performances so fare were 803rd, 5,269th, 726th, 4,046th, 99th, 438th and now 31st OPEN, 2nd UK, 33rd Open Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from Ackworth, 3rd UK, 35th Open Ken Darlington from Barry, 4th UK, 38th Open Manchester Maestros with pigeon bred by Crehan & O’Connor from Salford, 5th UK, 57th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 6th UK, 79th Open Bannister and Leech Syndicate with pigeon bred by Steve Bannister from Purston, 7th UK, 80th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate and once again bred by Bob Fenech from Attkleborough, 8th UK, 98th Open Ultimate Collection with pigeon bred by Mark & Dickie Evans from Whitley Bridge, 9th UK, 101st Open another for Manchester Maestros and with another pigeon bred by Crehan & O’Connor from Salford,10th UK, 104th Open Alistair Hogg from Winchburgh, 11th UK, 108th Open Emilia Loft UK and with pigeon bred by Sebastian Suski from Southampton, 12th UK, 138th Open Jurgen and Caroline Josch from Hailsham, 13th UK, 161st Open The Goonies with pigeon bred by Mark Darby from Walsall, 14th UK, 163rd Open Trainspotters, 15th UK, 164th Open Prettejohn – Underhill from Plymouth, 16th UK, 171st Open Emerald Classic with pigeon bred by John Boyd from Ballyclare, 17th UK, 176th Open another for Guys Loft Elite with another pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 18th UK, 180th Open a third for the Lucky Devils Syndicate with yet another pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 19th UK, 181st Open Les and Derick Wellburn from Acklam and 20th UK, 192nd Open Roger Sutton from Congleton. OVERALL, A GREAT RESULTS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM ENTRANTS. A total of 291 pigeons from the United Kingdom were officially recorded on the day by 18.54, leaving 27 still to make it back to base camp. Another 10 UK pigeons returned to the lofts on Sunday by 11.24, leaving just 17 still missing and by darkness the total home had risen to 316, leaving just 3 to make it home.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 2nd OPEN went to BERNARD SMYTH – GORDON BROTHERS with their pigeon named DIEGO S and which was officially clocked at 08.14.40.39, just 01.44 seconds behind the actual race winner, this pigeon had previously won 1,734th, 940th, 211th, 720th, 2,531st, 2,865th and now 2nd OPEN, then 2nd Ireland, 145th Open Fat Maher, 3rd Ireland, 179th Open Jos Reilly – Team Ireland, 4th Ireland, 234th Open Philip + Mark Smith, 5th Ireland, 517th Open Safet Duran and 6th Ireland, 720th Open another for Philip + Mark Smith. WELL DONE TO THIS SYNDICATE WHO VERT NEARLY WON 1st OPEN IN THIS RACE. A total of 51 Irish pigeons were officially clocked by 18.54, leaving just 5 to make it back to the lofts on the day. On Sunday morning 4 more pigeons had returned back to the lofts by 11.24 and the last one returned later onh Sunday to make a 100% return.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS totalled US$6,967.45c (£4,645) and there was a total of 235 pigeons entered and this number contained 10 from the United Kingdom and none from Ireland. There was a total of 740 nominations in this race but there were no UK winners in this race. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS only totalled US$90.10c (£60) and 4 UK pigeons were entered with just 14 nominations and taking 1,930th Open was EAMON KELLY from ABINGDON with pigeon named JAMIE RAY which won US$90.10c (£60). This pigeon is flying very consistently and has already won quite a lot of pool money in this race series. WELL DONE TO ALL EAMON KELLY.

CASCADE CHALLENGE had a total of 179 entries, which included 15 from the United Kingdom and 3 from Ireland and a total of US$3,521.50c (£2,348) was up for grabs in today’s race but one again this great cash prize was won and went to JOCHEN HUENTEN from GERMANY with his pigeon named ALWAYS AFTERNOON which had previously won 1,716th, 517th, 2,409th, 661st, 897th, 499th and now 1st OPEN. There will be a US$1,000 (£645) starting fund carried forward to the 2nd Car Race Hot Spot on Wednesday. The nearest UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 31st OPEN for GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon named LITTLE BO PEEP which was bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON. The nearest IRISH pigeon took 942nd OPEN for LYONS and BLACKMORE with their pigeon named JACK THE LAD. GOOD LUCK THAT DECIDE TO HAVE A LITTLE GAMBLE on the 2nd CAR RACE HOT SPOT.

THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 7 races are as follows:- 1st HAMILTON RACING – AUSTRALIA from AUSTRALIA with their pigeon named JOJO with a combined flying time of 06.58.26.25, this pigeon has taken 168th, 951st, 449th, 2nd, 214th, 116th & now 350th OPEN in its first seven races, it currently leading this category by a clear 2 minutes 16 seconds. UNITED KINGDOM AVERAGES after 7 races are as follows:- 1st, 2nd & 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 11th, 14th & 23rd OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with three pigeons named LUCKY STAR, LUCKY VISION and LUCKY FLAME all bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with LUCKY STAR combined flying time of 07.22.21.12, this pigeon has taken 1260th, 289th, 1280th, 963rd, 1061st, 114th & now 57th OPEN in its first seven races. There are 7 UK pigeons that are currently in the top 65 in the Open and 14 pigeons in the top 194. A TRULY GREAT TEAM PERFORMANCE. IRISH AVERAGES after 7 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 15th OPEN HEPING YU with pigeon named MR DARCY with a combined flying time of 07.25.22.30, this pigeon has taken 741st, 2262nd, 1251st, 400th, 164th, 97th and 1895th OPEN in its first seven races. The next Irish pigeon is holding on to 427th Open.

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*** I am sorry that I can’t add all the information about who bred all the pigeons or where they live but I can only publish details which I am in possession of. If there are no details besides your winning pigeon/s then please contact me on reglofts@aol.com with your details and I will include these in later Press Reports. I like to give all the entrants and breeders all the credit they and their pigeons deserve when they manage to get in the results. Your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

The training and race programme will consist of daily training tosses (except Sundays) and twenty-four (24) official races on Saturday’s and Wednesday’s. Next event will be CAR RACE HOT SPOT 2 on Wednesday 27th November from 175km (107 miles), then Training Race 9 on Saturday 30th November 2013 from 120km (75 miles), then Training Race 10 on Wednesday 4th December 2013 from 80km (50 miles), then HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 on Saturday 7th December 2013 from 230km (143 miles), then Training Race 11 on Wednesday 11th December 2013 from 80km (50 miles), then Training Race 12 on Saturday 14th December 2013 from 120km (75 miles), then HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 on Saturday 21st December 2013 from 300km (187 miles), then Training Race 13 on Saturday 28th December 2013 from 120km (75 miles), then HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 on Saturday 4th January 2014 from 350km (218 miles), then Training Race 14 on Wednesday 8th January 2014 from 50km (31 miles), then Training Race 15 on Saturday 11th January 2014 from 80km (50 miles), then Training Race 16 on Wednesday 15th January 2014 from 80km (31 miles), then the penultimate Training Race 17 on Saturday 18th January 2014 from 125km (78 miles) and then THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE on Saturday 25th January 2014 from 550km (342 miles). All these races will be officially listed for all to see and view on the SAMDPR Web Site. Of course the weather conditions will have to be right for all of these races to take place, if not they will be basketed and liberated on another day when the weather forecast is better and the Race Director’s decision will be final. The object of this great race from day one has always been to get as many pigeons to the “FINAL RACE” as possible and give all fanciers, competitors and entrants a fair chance in the “FINAL RACE”. Only races of 80km (approx. 50 miles) will count towards The South African Million Dollar Overall ACE PIGEON Averages, which has a total of three cash prizes of US$10,000 (approx. £6,666), US$5,000 (approx. £3,333) and US$2,500 (approx. £1,666) for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in this category.

NOMINATION RACES will be held on numerous TRAINING RACES, plus the HOT SPOT CAR RACES 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and of course the FINAL RACE. See SAMDPR Web Site for full details. All these races will have US$1, US$2, US£5, US$10, US$20, US$50 & US$100 REGIONAL and US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10, US$20, US$50 & US$100 GLOBAL NOMINATIONS which can be placed on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR Web Site. If you wish to enter any of these GLOBAL or REGIONAL NOMINATIONS, you will have to have credit in your ASI Master Account. If you do not have credit then please forward funds to your Race Shipper so that this can be transferred to your Master Account in time to get your NOMINATIONS placed. Please do not leave it to the last minute to transfer funds as the transfer may not go through in time and this could result in your pigeon or pigeons not winning what they should be rewarded with. This year you can now also place funds directly onto your AS Account with the use on PayPal. Just log onto your AS Account and you will be guided through the process and shown how to proceed.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL CONCERNED AND REGULAR “PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS AND SYNDICATE SHAREHOLDERS ON A WEEKLY BASIS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. ALSO WEEKLY “PRESS RELEASES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO BOTH OUR TWO PIGEON PUBLICATIONS NAMELY THE “BRITISH HOMING WORLD” AND “”THE RACING PIGEON” PLUS IT WILL ALSO BE ON THE REGENCY LOFTS WEB SITE www.regencylofts.com FOR ALL TO VIEW.

It will also be my eighteenth year of organising a “TRIP OF A LIFETIME” and I am also fairly positive that once again The South African pigeon fanciers and all the staff at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg will be going out of their way to make sure everybody has a fantastic time in the fabulous resort and as in past years I will as usual be organising an 11 day (9 nights) stay in South Africa. We will depart on Economy Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow Airport on Tuesday 21st January 2014 and then depart on Economy Virgin Atlantic from OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg on Friday 31st January 2014 finally arriving back at London Heathrow Airport on Saturday 1st February 2014 at 06.50. We will spend 5 nights in the fantastic 5 star D’Oreale Grande Hotel (Classic Rooms) in Emperors Palace, Johannesburg to watch and be part of this fantastic race and meet lots of top fanciers from literally all over the world, whilst the same time enjoying the outstanding South African scenery, weather, food, beer and of course the superb South African hospitality. Included in this part of the trip will be all transfers to and from the race lofts and also the race marking and auction in Linbro Park, all the three Official Functions and meals, plus B & B basis for the duration of our stay. Also included is a day sightseeing trip to Pretoria on the Friday, which also includes a nice lunch in a restaurant. We will then be leaving Emperors Palace on the Monday morning after the race and travelling by road in a luxury air conditioned coach to the outstanding Sun City Resort and Complex and staying in the 5 star Cascades Hotel (Luxury Rooms) for an extra 4 nights on a B & B basis and which includes all transfers. This is the venue where the first sixteen races took place. This will certainly be a trip for all to remember so if you are genuinely interested then please get in touch with me ASAP on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or by email on reglofts@aol.com because flights and accommodation will be as usual at a premium. All accommodation packages are based on a twin or double sharing basis and breakfast is included every morning in my special package deal. The total cost per person for this “TRIP OF A LIFETIME” currently stands at ZAR30,500 or £1,968.00p at 15.50 exchange rate. However, if this exchange rate went up to 16.00 the overall price would then be reduced to £1,906.00p. These prices will only stand if we manage to get 10 or more people travelling out and back on the same flights. If not then the prices could rise slightly. A non-refundable deposit of £200 per person is required on the booking of your place/s. This trip represents great value for money and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. A full itinerary was published in both the “BHW” and the “RP” weeklies on Friday 25th October 2013.

***SPECIAL NOTICE*** One point that should be pointed out to all competitors and entrants is that only your NUMBER 1 pigeons is “ACTIVATED” (FULLY PAID UP ENTRY) with the other TWO (2) pigeons in each of your “TEAM OF 3” being your RESERVES or BACK-UP PIGEONS. Another point worth mentioning is if you happened to lose your NUMBER 1 PIGEON, your NUMBER 2 PIGEON would replace it FREE OF CHARGE and likewise if you then lost your NUMBER 2 PIGEON, your NUMBER 3 PIGEON would then replace that one FREE OF CHARGE. If you were unlucky enough to lose all your entries of 3 pigeons in any of your “TEAMS” and they had won no “Special Prize Money” in the new HOT SPOT CAR RACES 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 then you are entitled to a FREE ENTRY into the 19th SAMDPR and all you have to pay is the Registration Fee of US$25 and the official shipping/export costs.

This of course represents great value for your money. All pigeons go to every training toss and Saturday and Wednesday races providing they are fit enough but can only compete for any of the allocated PRIZE MONEY or SPECIAL AWARDS in the 5 x HOT SPOT CAR RACES if they are “ACTIVATED” and that means that these must be paid for prior to the HOT SPOT CAR RACE 1, which is due to take place on SATURDAY 16th NOVEMBER 2013 from 150km (approx. 93 miles). However, if you decide not to “ACTIVATE” your Reserve Pigeon/s before this date, you can go ahead and “ACTIVATE” them prior to any other CAR RACE HOT SPOT and then they will be eligible to fly for the prize money allocated to that race and all future races. The cost to “ACTIVATE” these “RESERVES or BACK-UP PIGEONS” is US$1,000 (approx. £645)(MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE AT THE TIME) but that will then entitle all these fully paid up pigeons to compete and be eligible to fly for all the extra cash prizes and special awards that amounts to close to US$300,000 (approx. £200,000). The one thing to remember is that once your reserve pigeon or pigeons are fully paid for, if then they get lost and have won no prize money or special awards in the Special Money Races, then you get this money refunded (less about US$15 (£10) for bank charges) or you can have it added to your ASI account, which can then be used to purchase another pigeon at a later date and be entered into the Final Race under your name or syndicate or even under another name of your choice. So as you can see it is “BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY” and pay for them early, after all you have nothing to lose.
HOW MANY OTHER RACES IN THE WORLD OFFER THIS SORT OF OPTION TO COMPETITORS AND ENTRANTS?

***WHAT CAN BE WON DURING THIS 2013/14 RACE SERIES*** Prizes and awards now add up to a staggering US$1.7 Million American Dollars £1.13 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars, 1 for each of the 5 x Car Races, 95 x US$1,000 Hot Spot Cash Prizes (it should be noted that the Motor Car Winner does not receive a US$1,000 Cash Prize), split into 19 x US$1,000 Cash Prizes for each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, a US$5,000 Car Race Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Award for the best pigeon in these 5 races, 5 x US$5,000 Country Cash Prizes on the Car Race Hot Spot 5, plus numerous other US$1,000 Cash Prizes, these prizes are for the first pigeon from each country in the result, the first five different countries take the US$5,000 prizes, then after that US$1,000 prizes. A Two Bird Average Competition and a US$2,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, A Three Bird Average Competition and a US$3,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, The South African Million Dollar Ace Pigeon Award carries US$17,500 in Prize Money, split into three cash prizes with 1st US$10,000, 2nd US$5,000 and 3rd US$2,500 Cash Prizes for the 3 pigeons with the best overall average in all the Official Training Races over 50km (31 miles) and 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. There will also be a Knockout Winner Competition and US$25,000 Prize Money, which starts on the Car Race Hot Spot 2 and the winner is the first one to be clocked in the “FINAL RACE” (over the past few years there has been around 40/60 pigeons still left in this competition). Then in the “FINAL RACE” on the 25th January 2014 there are also 10 magnificent gold pendants to be won and around US$950,000 American Dollars in Prize Money and 300 cash prizes being on offer. THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL RACE & US$1,000 (approx. £645) NOMINATION will also take place on the “FINAL RACE” and the winning will be A BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ SLK 555 AMG MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$85,000 (approx. £55,000). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED TO THE 18th SOUTH ARFICAN MILLION DOLLAR “FINAL RACE” IS AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$125,000 (approx. £83,333), 2nd US$80,000 (approx. £53,000), 3rd US$60,000 (approx. £40,000), 4th US$40,000 (approx. £26,666), 5th US$30,000 (approx. £20,000), 6th to 10th US$15,000 (approx. £10,000), 11th/20th US$8,000 each (approx. £5,333), 21st/30th US$4,000 each (approx. £2,666), 31st/100th US$2,500 each (approx. £1,666), 101st/150th US$2,000 each (approx. £1,333), 151st/300th US$1,000 each (approx. £666). (Subject to terms and conditions of entry). The actual cash prizes stated above represent exchange rates at the current time and may of course change at the time of each race depending what the currency exchange rate is on that race day.

It is worth mentioning that six brand new cars have been won by fanciers representing the United Kingdom Team in the last seven years, Richard Elliott and Chris Gordon both won new cars during the 2005/6 race series and Paul & Dave McCarthy won one a new car during the 2006/7 series. During the 2011/12 race series fanciers from the UK won a staggering 3 x brand new cars and these were Nev & Angi Evans & Steve Cuthbert, Robert & Peter Montila and then Phil Bond. This in itself was an outstanding team performance. No other country has ever won three cars on the trot. The Irish fancier named John Nash also won a brand new car in the 2008/9 race series. I am hopeful that somebody from the United Kingdom or Ireland will also win one or maybe more brand new cars during the 2013/14 race series. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS.

I would also just like to notify fanciers that my weekly “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”, “NEWSLETTERS” and “UPDATES” can now also be seen on the following pigeon web sites:- www.regencylofts.com www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com www.pigeonportal.com www.pigeonglobe.co.uk www.cyberpigeon.co.uk www.pigeonbasics.com www.pigeoncare.nl www.starpigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk plus of course they will also be published in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEON” weeklies for all to see.

The race date for THE 19th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed and this will once again take place in fabulous Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 24th January 2015. If you are interested in participating or acting a Country Race Team Shipper, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email on reglofts@aol.com and I will give you all the information you require. My two proposed shipping dates for THE 19th SAMDPR will take about the middle of JUNE 2014 and then the second one should be around the first week of JULY 2014. Of course these two dates will be confirmed nearer the time.

If you have any questions about any aspect of THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or by SMS or email at reglofts@aol.com and I will do my best to answer any of your questions or queries.

These “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES” do take a lot of my time to prepare and I try to get as much into them as possible, unfortunately some time, some information will not be to hand when the print deadline is reached so can’t be included in that report. I can only apologise if I leave something out but I can assure everybody that I do my best to get as much information as possible to put into each of these press reports.

IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE MY WEEKLY “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” BY EMAIL, THEN ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME THEIR ACTUAL EMAIL ADDRESS I WILL PUT THEM ON MY EMAIL DATABASE AND I WILL THEN FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

Paul Smith.
United Kingdom Race Team Shipper & International Race Co-ordinator for The 18th South African Million Dollar (The Greatest & Biggest One Loft Pigeon Race In The World Today! and also “The Race With The Proven Track Record”), which is due to be held in Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 25th January 2014.
Regency Lofts Limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005 (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005). Mobile:- 07860-568216.
Email:- reglofts@aol.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Regency Lofts web Site Address:- www.regencylofts.com
The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site Address:- www.samdpr.com