SAMDPR - HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 & Training Race 12.

[willie reynolds]

“INTERNATIONAL PRESS REPORT”
THE 19th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR
(THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD)
(THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD)
DUE TO BE HELD IN LINBRO PARK, SANDTON,
SOUTH AFRICA ON SATURDAY 24th JANUARY 2015.

RESULTS FOR HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 &
TRAINING RACE 12.

HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 took place on Saturday 20th December 2014 from 221km (137 miles) and a total of 2,792 pigeons were basketed from 34 different countries, this total included 185 South African pigeons and 2,607 international pigeons and this figure included 169 from the United Kingdom and 41 from Ireland. The convoy was made up by pigeons entered from the following countries:- Australia 99, Austria 31, Bahrain 14, Belgium 160, Bulgaria 12, Canada 35, Czech Republic 59, Denmark 22, France 2, Germany 610, Hungary 4, Iraq 11, Ireland 41,
Italy 5, Kuwait 248, Malta 2, Netherlands 189, Norway 14, Poland 68, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 2, Qatar 15, Romania 62, Saudi Arabia 28, Slovakia 55, Slovenia 16, South Africa 185, Sweden 8, Switzerland 10, Turkey 2, United Arab Emirates 3, United Kingdom 169, United States Of America 576 and Zimbabwe 6. A total of 2,764 pigeons from 34 different countries and 28 Defaulter Pigeons which are still to be paid for, these pigeons are not listed on the results so that the owners that sent them out to the race can’t follow them to see how they are doing. On the results they just show as a Defaulter Pigeon (no information will be displayed or country flag will be shown on the race result).

The convoy were liberated at 05.30 in fine and cool conditions, with light tail wind and a temperature of 17c (62f) and a fairly fast race was anticipated by the loft staff. As the day progressed the weather would remain sunny and the temperature would rise to about 30c (88f) mid-afternoon with the possibility of more light rain forecast around 13.00.

LIVESTEAM was up and running and as I woke early and logged on to the SAMDPR web site at about 06.00 (GMT) or 08.00 South African time as I thought the first pigeons would arrive about 08.10. The weather was a bit overcast with lots of low clouds and a bit misty. I only had to wait one minute because as 08.01 (SA) the first gang of about 40 pigeons appeared bang on line and hit the top, most landed on loft 2 the one closest to the big warehouse on the next property and they started to trap just as another gang of about 25 came bang on line and hit the top of loft 2, followed by another slightly bigger gang of about 60 pigeons hit the top of the lofts, then another bigger gang of probably about 25 pigeons came through the skies bang on line and hit the top of the lofts. So within two minutes there was probably around 150 plus pigeons home and as usual the quicker trappers take the spoils. I would just like to say that the trapping this year has greatly improved and it was great to see them not sitting about as much as they did last year. I watched the pigeons approach the lofts for about 30 minutes and it should be mentioned that they must have a wonderful racing line by now because you could virtually draw a line through the sky as most of the gangs approached the two lofts. Well done to the loft staff for making sure the pigeons do not sit out like they have done in the past. Of course there will always be the exception and a few will always be troublesome. Over 1,850 pigeons were officially clocked by 08.33. It really is fantastic to sit nearly 6,000 miles away and watch everything happen live in South Africa. Once again modern technology at its best.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN went to COENIE HATTINGH from SOUTH AFRICA with pigeon named SCRATCH bred by COENIE HATTINGH which was officially clocked at 08.01.07.27 to record a winning velocity of 1497ypm (54mph), 2nd Team Harrys Grandchildren from Germany, 3rd Nanez Family Syndicate from United States Of America, this pigeon SOUL SURVIVOR has been flying very well and already won 178th HSCR1, 98th HSCR2, 5th HSCR3 and now 3rd HSCR4, also won 80th, 56th, 82nd, 98th and 224th OPEN in other races and has now won nearly US$13,500 in Nomination winnings plus US$2,200 Hot Spot Cash Prizes, 4th Team Brockamp-Stieneker-Wagner from Germany, 5th Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from Netherlands, 6th Nasrat Yardam from Canada, this pigeon has won 148th, 3rd, 24th and now 6th Open in the last four races, 7th Team Molokai Maui Hawaii from United States Of America, with the same pigeon that won 1st Open in the previous race, 8th McKenna and Carney from United States Of America, this is the 6th time this pigeon has scored in the top 56 in the Open result, 9th Leon van Rooyen from South Africa, 10th Bacalu Danut + Serafim from Romania, 11th Team Hurrican from Germany, 12th Oscar Betancourt from United States Of America, 13th Gaddin Brothers and Charl Stander from South Africa, 14th Robert Marjanovic from Austria, 15th another for Bacalu Danut + Serafim from Romania, 16th Willy + Ivan Baetens from Germany, 17th Alias-Alias Team from United States Of America, 18th Warren Bloomfield from Australia, 19th Fayez 8 from Kuwait and 20th Horst Zikeli from Germany. The top 20 pigeons were separated by just 12.41 seconds and had 9 different countries represented in this result, with 5 different countries represented in the to 6 in this result. The top 50 pigeons were separated by 1 minute 12.39 seconds. A total of 2,636 pigeons were officially recorded by 19.14, leaving just 156 pigeons still to return to the lofts. The clock was left on during Sunday and a further 81 pigeons made it back to base camp. The Monday Loft Listing showed 2,736 pigeons (98%) in the lofts, leaving 56 pigeons (2%) still to make it back to the lofts.

THE BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR WINNER in HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and an EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT for the pigeon that actually took 2nd OPEN entered by TEAM HARRYS GRANDCHILDREN with pigeon named ROBERT B03 which was bred by OLAF GEHRKEN. Once again a pigeon that took 1st OPEN was NOT-ACTIVATED so was not eligible to win this coveted prize, nor could it win one of the US$1,100 Cash Prizes. What a great shame for the person that entered it COENIE HATTINGH from SOUTH AFRICA. This is not the first time that the 1st OPEN winner was NOT-ACTIVATED, it has happened in the past and I am sure it will happen again in the future. It just goes to show that if your pigeons are still in the race coming up to HSCR1 then it pays to ACTIVATE them.

HOT SPOT CAR RACE $ US$1,100 (£734) 19 CASH WINNERS in HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 went to 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th OPEN. Once again 3 other pigeons that took 6th OPEN from SOUTH AFRICA, 12th & 18th OPEN both from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, plus the pigeon that took 1st OPEN were NOT-ACTIVATED so could not win any of these Cash Prizes. The total that have missed out so far winning a major cash prize or car in the four HOT SPOT CAR RACES that have taken place so far in the 2014/15 race series now total 13. However, somebodies bad news is somebody else good new and four German fanciers that took 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th OPEN (see results for winners) won these four extra Cash Prizes. Once again this should show fanciers that if the pigeon is good enough to enter at the start, then surely it must be good enough to ACTIVATE to be eligible to compete for these Special Prizes. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.

TWO BIRD AVERAGE WINNER and US$2,000 (£1,334) in HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 was HARDY KRUEGER (TEAM 2) from GERMANY with pigeons named SEATTLE DANCER and LAST SAMURAI LH that took 22nd and 43rd OPEN. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 67th OPEN went to LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATES (TEAM 9), administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeons named LUCKY REWARD and LUCKY VISION that took 375th and 597th OPEN both bred by FENECH BROTHERS from ATTLEBOROUGH. 1st IRELAND, 20th OPEN was MORAN and BOWDEN (TEAM 1) with pigeons named DANCING QUEEN and BEAUTIFUL ALANNAH that took 62nd and 371st OPEN. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE WINNERS.

THREE BIRD AVERAGE WINNER and US$3,000 (£2,000) in HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 was HARDY KREUGER (TEAM 2) from GERMANY, with pigeons named SEATTLE DANCER, LAST SAMURAI LH and BIG BROWN which took 22nd, 43rd and 269th OPEN. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 49th OPEN went to CARLOS DREAM SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeons named CARLOS TREASURE, CARLOS DREAM and CARLOS GLORY which took 287th, 1439th and 2149th OPEN and all 3 pigeons bred by FENECH BROTHERS from ATTLEBOROUGH. There were no IRISH teams of 3 pigeons clocked in this category. WELL DONE TO THESE WINNERS.

HOT SPOT AVERAGES after four HOT SPOT RACES stands as follows:- 1st BELGIUM, 1st OPEN is LEO HEREMANS from BELGIUM with this pigeon named NATASCHA that has won 298th HSCR1, 11th HSCR2, 3rd HSCR3 and now 68th HSCR4 and has a combined flying time of 07.53.47.80, moving up 1 place from 2nd after HSCR3. This pigeon is currently leading this category by just 1 minute 08.51 seconds. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 8th OPEN is TEAM LINCS with pigeon named SILVER X bred by MR & MRS PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD with the following performances 611th HSCR1, 76th HSCR2, 165th HSCR3 and now 66th HSCR4 and has a combined flying time of 08.02.24.79, moving up 33 places from 41st after HSCR3. 1st IRELAND, 181st OPEN is MORAN and BOWDEN with pigeon named DANCING QUEEN that has won 1375th HSCR1, 413th HSCR2, 154th HSCR3 and now 62nd HSCR4 and has a combined flying time of 08.20.31.00, moving up 463 places from 644th after HSCR3.

THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION offers a 1st PRIZE of US$25,000 (£16,667) in the FINAL RACE. This competition started off with 2,465 pigeons from 37 different countries and now after ROUND 3 took place in HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4, I can tell you that 35% (309) of the remaining 882 pigeons will go through to ROUND 4 which will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 when 20% (62) pigeons will then go through to compete in the FINAL RACE for “THE POT OF GOLD” on Saturday 24th January 2015. The remaining 309 pigeons that went through to ROUND 4 which takes place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 are made up as follows:- 293 INTERNATIONAL, which includes 21 from UNITED KINGDOM and 3 from IRELAND, plus 16 pigeons from SOUTH AFRICA. GOOD LUCK TO ANY FANCIERS THAT HAVE PIGEONS STILL LEFT IN THIS GREAT COMPETITION.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 51st OPEN went to GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon named LEXIES STAR, bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON which was officially clocked at 08.02.20.10, just 1 minute 12.83 seconds behind the actual race winner, 2nd UK, 66th Open Team Lincs with pigeon bred by Mr & Mrs Paul & Tracey Stacey from Sleaford, this partnership won 1st UK, 25th OPEN with the same pigeon in TR10, 3rd UK, 67th Open Dream Team Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 4th UK, 105th Open Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon that was bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven, 5th UK, 129th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 6th UK, 132nd Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate with a third pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, this pigeon has also been flying well in this race series, 7th UK, 150th Open Buckles Bandits entered by Steve Buckle from Northwood and with pigeon bred by Terry Haley from Watford, 8th UK, 167th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate and with a fourth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 9th UK, 171st Open Mark Gilbert GB from Windsor, 10th UK, 195th Open Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe, 11th UK, 196th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham, 12th UK, 239th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with a fifth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 13th UK, 251st Open Durkan Brothers from Ripon, 14th UK, 287th Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a sixth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, with a pigeon that has already scored a few times in this race series, 15th UK, 305th Open Roger & Pat Sutton from Congleton, 16th UK, 315th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 17th UK, 326th Open Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell, with pigeon that is currently holding 1st UK, 7th Open in the Overall Averages, 18th UK, 354th Open Mr & Mrs Brian & Mavis Clayburn from Ackworth, 19th UK, 375th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with a seventh pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough and 20th UK, 376th Open Pigeon Corporation with pigeon bred by Leon Viljoen. A total of 163 UK pigeons were officially recorded by 19.14, leaving just 6 pigeons still to make it back to the lofts. No more UK pigeons returned to the lofts on Sunday. The Monday Loft Listings still showed 163 (96.45%) UK pigeons in the lofts, which meant that 6 pigeons (3.55%) were still to return.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 62nd OPEN went to MORAN and BOWDEN with pigeon named DANCING QUEEN bred by ANDY MORAN, which was official clocked at 08.02.26.73, 1 minute 19.36 seconds behind the actual race winner, 2nd Ireland, 200th Open RS Homan, 3rd Ireland, 217th Open Padraig and Caoimhe, 4th Ireland, 298th Open Dylan and Daniel Boylan, 5th Ireland, 302nd Open Peter Lucas and 6th Ireland, 350th Open Boylan and Nasher. A total of 39 Irish pigeons were officially recorded by 19.14, leaving just 2 pigeons still to make it back to the lofts. The Monday Loft Listings showed 43 Irish pigeons in the lofts, meaning that 2 lost ones had also returned over the weekend to the lofts, thus making a 100% return rate.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS on this HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and there were a total of 409 pigeons entered which included 32 from the UNITED KINGDOM and 5 from IRELAND with a total of 1,492 nominations were placed with a total of US$17,081.60c (£11,388) up for grabs. CONGRATULATIONS to GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon named LEXIES STAR bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON that took 51st OPEN and won a cool US$3,196 (£2,131) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO THIS FANCIER.

REGIONAL NOMINATIONS in the UNITED KINGDOM had 7 pigeons entered with 30 nominations and a total of US$158.10c (£106) up for grabs and the winner was PIETER OBERHOLSTER from KEYSOE with pigeon named OBI-TIGRESS that took 195th OPEN and won US$158.10c (£106) for its efforts. WELL DONE PIETER.

The OVERALL AVERAGES after 15 official races in the 2014/15 race series stand as follows:- 1st ITALY, 1st OPEN goes to CHRISTIANO PALTRINIERI from ITALY with super pigeon named DAISUKE JIGEN, with a combined flying time of 19.00.07.19 which has so far won 73rd, 215th, 79th, 25th, 40th, 159th, 223rd, 1024th, 845th, 57th, 308th, 547th, 107th, 543rd and now 50th OPEN in the 15 race that count in this race series, staying in 1st place from the last race. Taking 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 7th OPEN IAN CRAMMOND and NIGEL LANGSTAFF from FONTWELL and with their pigeon named FONTWELL FOXTROT ROMEO, with a combined flying time of 19.19.34.40, this pigeon has won 2488th, 1426th, 13th, 167th, 515th, 105th, 17th, 9th, 529th, 101st, 13th, 478th, 1329th, 587th and now 326th OPEN in the 15 races that count in this race series, moving up 6 places from 12th position in the last race. Taking 1st IRELAND, 313th OPEN BOYLAN and NASHER with their pigeon named ANNETTE N bred by JOHN NASH, with a combined flying time of 20.28.31.03, this pigeon has won 100th, 2009th, 2272nd, 1952nd, 406th, 781st, 130th, 1009th, 720th, 1874th, 1789th, 483rd, 423rd, 388th and now 424th OPEN in the 15 races that count in this race series, moving up 112 places from 425th position in the last race.

TRAINING RACE 12 was supposed to take place on Saturday 27th December 2014 from 110km (68 miles) but was changed because the weather forecast of heavy rain and big thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday and a total of 2,762 pigeons from 35 countries took part and this total included 2,575 international pigeons which included 163 from the United Kingdom and 43 from Ireland, plus 187 pigeons from South Africa. It should be mentioned that the pigeons were basketed and taken to the liberation site for the Sunday race but after hanging around for a break in the weather it was decided to bring the pigeons back to the lofts and go for the race on the Monday when the weather forecast was a bit better. WELL DONE to all the loft staff for such a bold decision, as the last thing they want a few days before HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 is a bad race. It was good to see they were thinking about the pigeons rather than getting a race. It has been a very wet race series so far with many more heavy thunderstorms than South Africa usually have, this of course makes it much harder for loft staff to decide when to have certain races.

The convoy were finally liberated on Monday 29th December 2014 at 08.00 in cool and overcast conditions and with a light head wind with a temperature of 16c (60f) rising to around 28c (84f) mid-afternoon and with a risk of an occasion light rain shower from 14.00 onwards. A reasonably fast race was anticipated by the loft staff.

LIVESTREAM was available to watch and I logged on at 07.15 GMT (09.15 SA) to watch the pigeons arrive and I did not have to wait long before the first batch of well over 50 pigeons arrived bang on line at 09.21 and whilst circling the lofts another massive gang arrived bang on line and all landed on loft 2 the one nearest the big warehouse in the next property and trapped reasonably well. As quick as these pigeons landed there were pigeons arriving from literally all over the place. Looking at the big tree next to the house you could see that the wind was blowing strongly but the skies were very heavy and looking overcast. However, it was fantastic to watch over 1,000 pigeons arrive bang on line within the space of 4 minutes of the race winner. It really is very exciting to sit at home nearly 6,000 miles away and watch the pigeons arrive. If you have not yet watched LIVESTREAM yet just log on for the next race and watch the pigeons arrive, it really is great fun.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN went to HANNELORE JAEKEL from GERMANY with pigeon named PIGEON LADY which was officially clocked at 09.21.55.51 to record 1460ypm (50mph), 2nd Steve Sterchi from United States Of America, 3rd Hok Jos Vercammen from Belgium, 4th Hutchins and Stone Syndicate from United States Of America, 5th Lucky Devils Syndicate from United Kingdom, 6th Mitch Dejlitko from United States Of America, 7th Mario Varela from United States Of America, 8th Sami Alfadhli from Kuwait, 9th another for Mitch Dejlitko from United States Of America, 10th Pohl – Faber from Germany, 11th Gruessinger – Koffler from Germany, 12th Scott McAllister from United States Of America, 13th Josef Huber from Germany, 14th Jorge Torres from United States Of America, 15th Hardy Kreuger from Germany, 16th another for Lucky Devils Syndicate from United Kingdom, 17th Fayez Q8 from Kuwait, 18th another for Fayez Q8 from Kuwait, 19th Engelbrecht Lofts from South Africa and 20th Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from Netherlands. The top 20 pigeons were separated by just 33.66 seconds and had 6 different countries represented in this above race result. A total of 2,674 pigeons were officially clocked by 18.25, leaving 88 still to return to the lofts. Five more returned to the lofts early on the Tuesday morning, leaving 83 still to return to the lofts.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 5th OPEN went to LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with consistent pigeon named LUCKY COUNTESS bred by FENECH BROTHERS from ATTLEBOROUGH which was officially clocked at 09.22.07.97 just 12.26 behind the actual race winner, this outstanding pigeon has so far won 365th, 12th, 375th, 143rd, 50th, 29th, 84th, 45th, 133rd, 208th, 30th and now 5th OPEN, plus winning over US$8,625 (£5,750) in Nomination winnings, 2nd UK, 16th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate with a second pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 3rd UK, 35th Open Guys Lofts with pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 4th UK, 60th Open Signalmen fron the North East with pigeon bred by P. Turner, this pigeon has won 34th, 113th, 88th, 56th, 79th, 67th, 203rd and now 60th Open, 5th UK, 120th Open a third pigeon for Lucky Devils Syndicate and again bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 6th UK, 131st Open Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell, this pigeon has also been fly well and has already won 13th, 167th, 105th, 17th, 9th, 101st, 13th and now 131st Open, 7th UK, 151st Open Zandys Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a fourth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 8th UK, 176th Open Team Lincs with pigeon bred by Mr & Mrs Paul & Tracey Stacey from Sleaford, this pigeon has also been very consistent throughout the race series and is currently leading the UK Hot Spot Averages after 4 races, 9th UK, 203rd Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a fifth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 10th UK, 212th Open Golden Mile with a pigeon bred by Garry Moody from Portsmouth, 11th UK, 214th Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, 12th UK, 220th Open Lloyd and Kelly from Abingdon, 13th UK, 224th Open Keith & Graham Jones from Aylesbury, 14th UK, 229th Open Pet Shop Boys and Girls with pigeon bred by John Alderslade from Bridlington, 15th UK, 230th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham, 16th UK, 251st Open another for Zandys Dream Syndicate and with a sixth pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 17th UK, 321st Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with a seventh pigeon bred by Fenech Brothers from Attleborough, 18th UK, 295th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 19th UK, 296th Open Paul Bamford from Pembroke Dock and 20th UK, 305th Open Gorse Syndicate with pigeon bred by Mr & Mrs J & T. Tweats from Congleton. A total of 161 UK pigeons were officially clocked by 18.25, leaving 2 UK pigeons still to make it back to the lofts.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 376th OPEN went to MORAN and BOWDEN with their pigeon named DANCING QUEEN which was officially clocked at 09.26.06.42, 4 minutes 10.91 seconds away from the actual race winner, 2nd Ireland, 395th Open Gerry Daly, 3rd Ireland, 399th Open Mob Tops, 4th Ireland, 506th Open Sheldon Leonard and Eamon Kelly, 5th Ireland, 510th Open Padraig and Caoimhe and 6th Ireland, 516th Open Maurice O’Donnell. A total of 41 Irish pigeons were officially clocked by 18.25, leaving 2 Irish pigeons to make it back to the lofts.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS on this TRAINING RACE 12 amounted to US$5,128.90c (£3,420) and a total of 238 pigeons including 22 from the United Kingdom and 2 from Ireland and with 732 nominations were placed. There were three UNITED KINGDOM winner and they were as follows:- LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named LUCKY COUNTESS that took 5th OPEN and was bred by FENECH BROTHERS from ATTLEBOROUGH, winning US$2,431 (£459) for its efforts, which now takes the winnings for this very consistent pigeon to US$8,625 (£5,750) in this race series. See positions won above in UK results. GUYS LOFTS took 35th OPEN with pigeon named WENDYS LITTLE DREAM bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON which won US$646 (£430.67p) for its efforts, then SIGNALMEN from the NORTH EAST with pigeon named WENDY bred by P. TURNER which won 60th OPEN and US$297 (£198) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE WINNER.

REGIONAL NOMINATIONS for the UNITED KINGDOM on this TRAINING RACE 12 only had 11 pigeons entered and 47 Nominations with a total of US$309.40c (£202.67p) to be won and this was won by the LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE with pigeon named LUCKY COUNTESS bred by FENECH BROTHERS from ATTLEBOROUGH that took 5th OPEN. WELL DONE TO THIS WINNER.

THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 16 official races in the 2014/15 race series stands as follows:- 1st ITALY, 1st OPEN CHRISTIANO PALTRINIERI with pigeon named DAISUKE JIGEN with a total flying time of 20.32.33.01 which has taken 73rd, 215th, 79th, 25th, 40th, 159th, 223rd, 1024th, 845th, 57th, 308th, 547th, 107th, 543rd, 50th and now 1591st OPEN in the 16 races that count, no movement in overall position and remains the same and unchanged from the last last race. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 6th OPEN IAN CRAMMOND and NIGEL LANGSTAFF from FONTWELL with their pigeon named FONTWELL FOXTROT ROMEO with a total flying time of 20.43.38.82 which has taken 2488th, 1426th, 13th, 167th, 515th, 105th, 17th, 9th, 529th, 101st, 13th, 478th, 1329th, 587th, 326th and now 131st OPEN in the 16 races that count, moving up 1 position from 7th in the last race.
1st IRELAND, 286th OPEN MORAN and BOWDEN with their pigeon named DANCING QUEEN bred by ANDY MORAN with a total flying time of 21.57.41.78 which has taken 1719th, 2265th, 58th, 1564th, 578th, 1375th, 1574th, 2079th, 413th, 149th, 1545th, 1370th, 2030th, 632nd, 62nd and now 376th OPEN in the 16 races that count, moving up 44 places from 330th in the last race.

The remaining race programme is now as follows:- Training Race 13 from 75km (47 miles) on 31st December 2014. Then we move into 2015 and start with HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 from 280km (175 miles) which will now take place on Sunday 4th January 2015, Training Race 14 from 50km (31 miles) on Wednesday 7th January, Training Race 15 from 75km (47 miles) on Saturday 10th January, Training Race 16 from 75km (47 miles) on Wednesday 14th January, Training Race 17 from 100km (62 miles) on Saturday 17th January, then THE FINAL RACE from will take place between 500km (311 miles) and 525km (326 miles) on Saturday 24th January 2015. The dates are not be set in stone and if the proposed date for any of these races is not suitable for liberation, then these will take place on the next best day in that week. Daily training will also take place during the week providing the weather is suitable. No training will take place on Sundays unless of course a holdover takes place on the Saturday race. The Overall Averages and the allocated Prize Money will only count in races of 50km (31 miles) and over. The Pre-Training Races will not count in The Overall Averages.

***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 my later International Press Reports. I personally do like to give all the fanciers, entrants and breeders all the credit they and their pigeons deserve when they manage to get in the results so your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

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. Also US$200 GLOBAL NOMINATIONS will be available on all 5 HOT SPOT CAR RACES. If you wish to enter any of these 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.

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 OFFICIAL WEB SITE www.scmdpr.com FOR ALL TO VIEW.

***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 20th SAMDPR and all you have to pay is the official shipping/export costs to your Country Shipper.

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 15th NOVEMBER 2014 from 130km (approx. 81 miles). The cost to “ACTIVATE” these “RESERVES or BACK-UP PIGEONS” is US$1,100 (approx. £700)(THIS MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE AT THE TIME OF ACTIVATION) 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. The race entry fee for The 19th SAMDPR was actually increased by US$100, up to US$1,100. However, all cash refunds will be at US$1,000 per paid pigeon, which will give the race organiser US$100 per pigeon for feeding, training and quarantine costs.
HOW MANY OTHER RACES IN THE WORLD OFFER THIS SORT OF OPTION TO COMPETITORS AND ENTRANTS?

***WHAT CAN BE WON DURING THIS 2014/15 RACE SERIES*** Prizes and awards now add up to a staggering US$1.8 Million American Dollars £1.2 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars, 1 for each of the 5 x Car Races, 95 x US$1,100 Hot Spot Cash Prizes (it should be noted that the Motor Car Winner does not receive a US$1,100 Cash Prize), split into 19 x US$1,100 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 International Country Challenge 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 worth well over US$1,000 each and now over US$1 Million 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 MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$80,000 (approx. £50,000). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). This new competition was very well supported in its first year and had over 160 entries and was so successful that it also paid out a staggering 2nd prize of US$54,000 cash. Do not miss this fantastic opportunity to win a fabulous new car.

PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED TO THE 19th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR “FINAL RACE” IS NOW AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$150,000 (approx. £93,750), 2nd US$100,000 (approx. £62,500), 3rd US$75,000 (approx. £46,875), 4th US$50,000 (approx. £31,250), 5th US$40,000 (approx. £25,000), 6th US$25,000 (£15,625), 7th US$17,500 (£10,938), 8th US$15,000 (£9,375, 9th US$12,500 (£7,813), 10th US$15,000 (approx. £10,000), 11th/15th US$7,500 each (approx. £4,688), 16th/20th US$5,000 each (approx. £3,125), 21st/30th US$4,000 each (approx. £2,500), 31st/40th US$3,500 each (approx. £2,188), 41st/50th US$3,000 each (approx. £1,875), 51st/70th US$2,000 each (£1,250), 71st/100th US$1,750 each (£1,094), 101st/150th US$1,500 each (£938), 151st/200th US$1,250 each (£782) and then 201st/300th US$1,100 each (£688). (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 the actual 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 2014/15 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 www.theloftreport.com plus of course they will also be published in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEON” weeklies and other world pigeon publications for all to see, read and enjoy.

The race date for THE 20th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed and this will once again take place in Linbro Park, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 30th January 2016. 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 20th SAMDPR will take about the middle of MAY 2015 and then the second one should be around the middle of JUNE 2015. 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 about this great race.

These “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES” do take a lot of my time to prepare and I do try to get as much information into them as possible as I know fanciers and entrants like to know what is happening in each race, unfortunately sometimes, 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 for this if I leave something out but I can assure everybody that I do my best to get as much current information as possible to put into each of these International Press Releases.

IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR IN FACT 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 AND I WILL PUT THEM ON MY EMAIL DATABASE AND I WILL THEN FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

***NEW COMPETITIONS HAVE NOW BEEN INTRODUCED*** AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE (The Presenters of the SAMDPR) are proud to announce a couple of new COUNTRY CHALLENGE COMPETITIONS which will be run on the 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE and another one on THE FINAL RACE. Both of these new competitions will give fanciers the chance to compete for COUNTRY PRIZE MONEY against their fellow countrymen. AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE are pleased to introduce a new COUNTRY CHALLENGE COMPETITION which will be run on the 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE as well as the COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE PIGEON which will be run on the main race (FINAL RACE) on January 24th 2015. All paid pigeons into The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race can be entered into this competition at a non-refundable, non-transferable entry fee of US$120 (£80) per pigeon up to liberation of the 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE. Pigeons will compete under the country flag for which they are flying in The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race and all countries with a minimum of five entrants can take part in the competition. US$10 (£6.67) of the entry fee will be retained by ASI for expenses and administration and the balance will be paid out as follows:- 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE US$70 (£47) from every entry will be added to the prize money for the COUNTRY CHALLENGE. All the prize money will be paid out to the first three COUNTRY CHALLENGE entered pigeons in a ratio of 50%, 30% and 20%. The SAMDPR Web Site will have a constantly updated listing of these prizes as well as a list of which pigeons are competing for the prize money per country. COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE PIGEON US$40 (£27) from the entry fee goes to this “WINNER TAKES ALL” prize which will be awarded to the first COUNTRY CHALLENGE pigeon in the Grand Averages per each competing country after The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, making the pigeon the COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE PIGEON for that country.

EXAMPLE:- If 50 pigeons were officially entered from any country then in the 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE, the prize money would be 1st 50% £1,750 (£1,167), 2nd US$1,050 (£700) and 3rd US$700 (£467). Then in the COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE PIGEON on the FINAL RACE the winning pigeon would walk away with $2,000 (£1,334) as the winner takes all. Of course the more pigeons that are entered from each country the bigger the cash prizes will be. If less than 50 pigeons are entered from each country, then of course the prize money would be less.
PLEASE TRY TO SUPPORT THESE NEW COMPETITIONS BY CONTACTING YOUR COUNTRY SHIPPER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO GET YOUR PIGEONS ENTERED INTO THESE TWO BRAND NEW COMPETITIONS.


***SPECIAL NOTIFICATION*** Every year has its own challenges and this year has been no different thanks to some extreme weather conditions we have experienced. The result of this has been that valuable training of the pigeons in the early stages has been lost and the distances for the first 3 Hot Spot Car Races have all had to be modified to suit the capability of the pigeons and the amount of training they have been able to get. The Loft Staff are carefully monitoring the pigeons and will adjust the distances for the remaining 2 Hot Spot Car Races as needed with the goal of a Final Race as close to 500km (311 miles) as possible. At this stage the pigeons are looking great and are in excellent health, they just need hours on the wing.

***POLITE REMINDER*** If you have any RESERVE PIGEONS that are not currently ACTIVATED then I strongly suggest your ACTIVATE these before the next HOT SPOT CAR RACE. (Contact your COUNTRY SHIPPER FOR DETAILS). Already in the three previous HOT SPOT CAR RACES in this current race series a total of 9 pigeons have not been ACTIVATED and have had to lose winning US$1,100 (£700) each in prize money. Also in past years quite a few fanciers have even lost out on winning a BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR because their pigeon was not ACTIVATED. Please do not let this happen to you.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PIGEON FANCIERS, SYNDICATES AND ENTRANTS DURING THE 2014/15 RACE SERIES.

I CLOSE THIS INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE OF THIS YEAR BY WISHING EVERYBODY I KNOW A VERY HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Paul Smith.
United Kingdom Race Team Shipper & International Race Co-ordinator for The 19th 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 the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 24th January 2015. 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