16th SCMDPR - Final Race Report Part (2)
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:25 pm
IT WAS THE 5th AND FINAL ROUND OF THE VERY POPULAR “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION”, WHICH OFFERS A US$25,000 (approx. £16,667) FIRST PRIZE TO THE FIRST NOMINATED PIGEON CLOCKED IN FIFTH ROUND, WHICH ALSO TOOK PLACE DURING THIS “FINAL RACE” AND FROM AN ORIGINAL RECORD BREAKING 3,341 PIGEONS ENTERED NOW ONLY 84 WERE LEFT IN THIS COMPETITION AND THE UNITED KINGDOM STILL HAD 10 PIGEONS LEFT IN THE RUNNING. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED THAT GOT PIGEONS INTO FINAL ROUND AND SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS GO TO THE WINNER WITH PIGEON NAMED SORAIA WHICH WAS ACTUALLY OWNED AND BRED BY TEAM SG JUNG-JUPID FROM GERMANY WHO FINISHED 36th OPEN, A FANTASTIC WIN FOR A VERY CONSISTENT PIGEON THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY WON 5th, 134th, 19th, 19th, 52nd, 34th, 49th, 16th, 87th and now 36th in THE FINAL RACE, this great pigeon also won two US$1,000 CAR RACE HOT SPOT CASH PRIZES.
THE SUN CITY ACE PIGEON GRAND AVERAGES had now been up and running for 28 races that counted and the final results this year for the 2010/11 race series were as follows:- 1st & US$10,000 (approx. £6,667) going to pigeon named CLIFF TWO bred by BROUGH – DR MEYER from the SOUTH AFRICA, winning by a clear 32 minutes and 21 seconds, performances of this great pigeon were as follows:- 69th, 10th, 80th, 22nd and then 80th in the Final Race, then 2nd & US$5,000 (approx. £3,334) going to MAGGIE MAIDEN bred by LEIDEMAN - SPITHOVEN from NETHERLANDS and then 3rd & US$2,500 (approx. £1,667) going to SISTER SARAH for JANCAN from CANADA. Great to see the first 3 positions in this category were pigeons bred by fanciers from different countries. I feel I must mention 4th which actually went to pigeon named SUPREME ROYAL and was bred by KEN DARLINGTON from BARRY, SOUTH WALES and was the first UNITED KINGDOM pigeon to be placed in this category. The UNITED KINGDOM competitors did exceptionally well in this classification and actually had 6 pigeons represented in the top 82 and 17 pigeons in the top 197. Our Irish counterparts had 2 pigeons in the top 247. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THESE WINNERS.
In the US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10,US$20, US$50, US$100, US$200 & US$500 GLOBAL NOMINATIONS the total payout amounted to yet another record breaking US$83,170-80c (approx. £55,448-00p) and is only open for the original entrant or the person that purchased a Punter pigeon to be able to place a bet. The web site showed that a total of 803 pigeons, which included 63 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 11 pigeons from Ireland were entered and a total of 3,951 Nominations were actually placed on pigeons in this great race. UNITED KINGDOM pigeons in the results that won money and these were as follows:- 47th OPEN was LLOYD and KELLY from DIDCOT and their pigeon named NED KELLY won a cool US$6,596 (approx. £4,398), 51st OPEN for N+A EVANS and CUTHBERT from WOLVISTON with pigeon named BURNTOFT JAY who won US$646 (approx. £431), then 69th OPEN was R + P MONTILA from EVERTON, Nr. SANDY with SOLITAIRE SUPER VR which won US$646 (approx. £431), then 145th OPEN was MANCHESTER MAESTROS with SPANISH IDENTITY and bred by CREHAN & O’CONNOR from MANCHESTER and winning a very nice US$2,550 (approx. £1,700). IT WAS GREAT TO SEE A FEW UNITED KINGDOM FANCIERS PICKING UP A FEW OF THE NOMINATION PRIZES IN THE FINAL RACE. THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM MEMBERS REALLY HAD A FANTASTIC RACE SERIES AND WON MANY NOMINATION CASH PRIZES RIGHT THROUGHOUT THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE UNION JACK FLYING HIGH MANY TIMES.
Once again the US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10, US$20, US$50, US$100, US$200 & US$500 REGIONAL & COUNTRY NOMINATIONS were well supported and a record breaking grand total of US$31,434-05c (approx. £20,956) was competed and flown for by 10 different countries. The UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY NOMINATIONS were not that well supported and actually had only 9 pigeons entered and 40 nominations and actually paid out a grand total of US$942-65c (approx. £629) and was all on by KEN DARLINGTON from BARRY, SOUTH WALES with his pigeon named SUPREME ROYAL that took 313th OPEN in this Final Race. CONGRATULATIONS TO KEN DARLINGTON FOR HAVING THE CONFIDENCE TO GAMBLE ON HIS PIGEON. If you want to see the other winners in the other countries that competed, then please go to www.scmdpr.com and log onto the Nomination Races section.
During the 2009/10 race series a brand new competition started and was named the “CASCADE CHALLENGE” this is a US$10 SINGLE NOMINATION but the pigeon has to win 1st OPEN to win the prize money. It had been won 4 or 5 times during the 2011/12 race series but unfortunately nobody won “THE POT OF GOLD” in the “FINAL RACE” when a total of 180 pigeons were entered and this included 19 from the United Kingdom and 2 from Ireland. So the total of US$3,530 (approx. £2,354) will now rollover to the 2012/13 race series and the web site will give information when this competition will start. The first Nominated pigeon clocked in this category actually took 2nd OPEN for TEAM SYLT 2000 - GOEBEL - VARNEY from GERMANY with their pigeon named SYLY ORPHEUS. The best UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 549th for THE FARRIERS with pigeon named AIMEE LEES STAR which was an earlier winner of this competition and was bred by Brian Greenley from Malton. The best IRISH pigeon took 674th for MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named SUPERSTAR DJ. Maurice had also won this competition earlier on in the season with his great pigeon PANACKY PEET. As was seen during the 2011/12 series this competition is going to hard to win, so roll on next year 2012/13 and let us all have another go at winning this tough Single Nomination competition.
Over the past sixteen years THE FINAL RACE has achieved some wonderful records and stats to be proud of and once again one that surely is worthy of a mention is that all the five pigeons that won a BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR in Car Race Hot Spots 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 namely BURNTOFT SYDNEE (UNITED KINGDOM), SOLITAIRE SUPER VR (UNITED KINGDOM), GRIBBLES CHOICE THREE (UNITED KINGDOM), Bb31 (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) and ERINS TUITION (NETHERLANDS) were all officially clocked by Sunday evening. It should also be mentioned that the 5 x CAR RACE HOT SPOT ACE PIGEON WINNER “JADES JOY” FROM AUSTRALIA ALSO MADE IT HOME TO THE LOFTS IN SUN CITY. YET ANOTHER FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT AND RECORD FOR THE SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE.
Whilst it would be very nice to mention everybody that clocked pigeons in each race, logistically that is impossible as I am sure you will all understand, that is why Air Sport Internationale SA have spent a small fortune making all the information you might require available on their state of the art web site:- www.scmdpr.com so you or anybody else around the world can get all the information at the touch of a button and even get a print off if one is needed, all you need to do id go onto the web site and see Results & Listings, everything you need to see will be their for you to see.
Anybody can log on to the state of the art web site:- www.scmdpr.com and see what is happening on a daily basis. If you had entered the 2011/12 race series you would have already had twenty-eight races and fun throughout our winter months following the success of your own pigeons or syndicate pigeons or of course just following the results of one of your local fanciers or somebody you know. Why not just log on and have a look on a regular basis, you will be amazed at what information you can see and find? This web site is without doubt the most informative and up to date one loft web site in the world today and is continually improving certain aspects of this great race.
If you entered the 16th SCMDPR and were unlucky enough to lose your complete team or in fact any of your complete teams of three pigeons prior to the basketing for the Final Race and you had paid your US$25 (approx. £17) Registration Fee for each team you entered, then you are entitled to a “FREE ENTRY” into the 2013 SCMDPR providing none of them won any special prize money in the earlier races. *****PLEASE NOTE:- This rule only applies to individually registered teams, which means that the US$25 (approx. £17) Registration Fee was originally paid with each team of three pigeons. The date for the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE had already been confirmed and will take place in Sun City Resort, South Africa on SATURDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2013. Please add this date in your diary and try to enter some pigeons or even attend the biggest and greatest one loft race in the world today and the one with a proven track record!
If you need to know anything about the race or are not sure about something, you can also contact me and I will only too pleased to assist you and give you the answers to any questions or queries you might have, just call me on my home number 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email me on reglofts@aol.com I will be only too pleased to give you any advise you may require.
I would now like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and it should be mentioned that in the FINAL RACE the actual PRIZE MONEY that could be won in this race amounted to a staggering US$1.080 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS, which currently equates to roughly £700,000-00p POUNDS STERLING. There were 300 Cash prizes for the first 300 “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” clocked in the race, plus US$25,000 KNOCKOUT PRIZE, US$17,500 SUN CITY GRAND AVERAGE PRIZES. Also to add to this are ten superb GOLD MEDALS and all the other trophies that can be won in this truly prestigious international pigeon race. Add to this all the US$100,000 allocated for 5 x Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes (20 x US$1,000 Cash Prizes in all these 5 events), plus US$75,000 allocated for the 5 x Brand New Motor Cars in the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, US$10,000 for the two pigeon averages with US$2,000 allocated to each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, US$5,000 Hot Spot Car Race Ace Pigeon Award, plus US$25,000 International Country Cash Prizes (5 x US$5,000 Cash Prizes) and numerous others at US$1,000 Cash Prizes for other countries that got pigeons in the top 250 in the 5th Car Race Hot Spot Result. Then there was all the GLOBAL and COUNTRY NOMINATIONS & GLOBAL & COUNTRY/REGIONAL POOLS plus all the trophies, awards, diplomas to all mentioned above and you truly do have “THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY” and “THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD” which has paid out its projected prize money every year since day one. TOTAL PAID OUT IN THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES WAS CLOSE TO US$2 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS. No other pigeon race in the world can proudly state this type of payout and that is a fact.
SPECIAL THANKS must go to SUN INTERNATIONAL for once again letting us host The 16th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), in the magnificent Sun City Resort. It really is a wonderful setting for such a prestigious event such as this. All the staff at the Sun City complex always seem to go out of their way to make sure we all have a great time and I for one, am looking forward to seeing them all again next year. ONCE AGAIN A SPECIAL THANK YOU must also go to AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE who are The Presenters of this race, as without their support over the last fourteen years this race would never of been able to add these accolades to their advertising, brochures and web site, “THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY” and “THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD” and “MORE THAN 400 DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE A WINNER”. This has only been achieved by all the hard work and effort by all the staff employed by this great race and ASI, plus of course all the Country Shippers that do such a wonderful job in getting all the pigeons to Sun City for the race.
However, without the support of all the race entrants over the past sixteen years and all the fanciers and friends that travel out to Sun City for the race, this pigeon race would never of become what it is today and that is without doubt “THE BEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY”, so a BIG THANK YOU for your race entries and for those of you that have also deciding to travel out to South Africa to watch and be part of this great race. Once again it was great to see nearly 100 United Kingdom and Irish fanciers taking a well earned break in the sun to travel out to watch a be part of this great international race, they once again they represented their countries in a great manner. I look forward to seeing you all again next year when perhaps one or more fanciers from these two countries can once again win some major cash prizes during the 2012/13 race series. YOUR SUPPORT WAS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
*****ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE SCMDPR***** For the first time ever for the 2010/11 SCMDPR an online auction facility had been set up on the SCMDPR Web Site www.scmdpr.com which would allow fanciers from literally all over the world to place “BIDS” online. This of course should help the eventual sale price of all of the pigeons that have returned from the race. Anybody wishing to place “BIDS” online must first register with the Administration Office in South Africa, once this has been done and agreed, you can then log onto any of the 51 auctions and place your “BIDS”. The first 100 pigeons were all sold in the Superbowl and then there are a further 50 auction sales all over South Africa with 45 pigeons in each. All the conditions are listed on the SCMDPR Web Site for all to see, so if you are genuinely interested, please get in touch as soon as possible.
*****THE AUCTION OF THE TOP 100 PIGEONS*****
As usual the first 100 pigeons were auctioned on Sunday morning and this year they were auctioned by JOHAN VEN DER NEST and his team from SOUTH AFRICA in the Superbowl at 09-00 and ALAN JORDAAN from SOUTH AFRICA read out the conditions of the sale and then told fanciers that pigeons could now be exported from South Africa and that if anybody wished to bid for a pigeon or pigeons the SCMDPR loft staff would arrange for the export to take place once all the auctions has finished. PAUL SMITH from UNITED KINGDOM and AUGUST DAELEMANS from BELGIUM once again assisted the auctioneers during this fantastic auction. The audience in the Superbowl were once again determined to buy the best and this was showed by the prices they were bidding. The auction was a resounding success with pigeons fetching record prices and these 100 pigeons raised a staggering total of ZAR2.1 Million South African Rand (approx. £175,000 Pounds Sterling), an average of around £1,750 per pigeon.
This just goes to show fanciers all over the world the interest there is in purchasing pigeons that compete in this great race. Just to give you an example of what the top pigeons made this year, I will now list a few:- The winning pigeon RUBELLOS that won 1st OPEN in the 16th SCMDPR and owned and entered by TEAM RUHR - SCHINK from GERMANY fetched a staggering R250,000 (approx. £20,834). Then the pigeon SYLT ORPHEUS that won 2nd OPEN owned by TEAM SYLT 2000 - GOEBEL-VARNEY from GERMANY fetched a staggering R360,000 (approx. £30,000), both the 1st and 2nd OPEN WINNERS were purchased by MARK KITCHENBRAND from SOUTH AFRICA and these two pigeons would join many of the past SCMDPR winners at stud that he has purchased over the past few years, 3rd OPEN was pigeon named LUKE DONALD and entered by RUEDIGER SCHOENAU from GERMANY fetched R35,000 (approx. £2,917), 4th Open fetched R20,000 (£1,667), 5th Open fetched R12,000 (£1,000), 6th Open fetched R25,000 (£2,084), 7th Open fetched R28,000 (£2,334), 8th Open fetched R18,000 (£1,500), 9th Open fetched R15,000 (£1,250) and 10th Open fetched R12,000 (£1,000). Many more pigeons fetched between R20,000 (£1,667) and R45,000 (£3,750) each. The 36th Open was the KNOCKOUT WINNER and that sold for R90,000 (£7,500), then 59th Open was an outstanding winning pigeon named SUGAR SHACK that had previously won 63rd, 69th, 62nd, 29th and 167th in the 5 x CAR RACE HOT SPOTS and then 59th OPEN in THE FINAL RACE that sold for a staggering R290,000 (£24,167) and then 80th Open was the SUN CITY OVERALL ACE PIGEON sold for R55,000 (£4,584). The auction finished at 13-00 and thanks must go to JOHAN VAN DER NEST and his other two staff for conducting this great sale. A big thank you must also go to AUGUST DAELEMANS from BELGIUM and PAUL SMITH from UNITED KINGDOM for their help and assistance during this fantastic auction. This once again just goes to show that if you are lucky enough to get a top class pigeon in the prestigious race you are looking at it fetching a small fortune and that can only be good news for all concerned because the breeder gets 50% of this sum after expenses have been deducted. WHAT A GREAT EXTRA REWARD IF YOUR PIGEON PERFORMS WELL DURING THE SCMDPR SERIES. ZANDY MEYER (Race Director) then thanked the auctioneer and assistants plus everybody concerned for their “BIDS” and wished everybody a safe journey home and looked forward to seeing everybody again next year.
The later auction sales around South Africa have once again attracted some big prices, probably due to the new online bidding service that started last year and it was great to see that after pigeons had battled to get home in a really tough race made good prices. There were 50 further auctions all around South Africa and they averaged about 45 pigeons per auction which started on Saturday 18th February 2012 and which should be good news for the owners. Many of these gallant pigeons fetched top prices with lots making over R10,000 (approx. £834) each. However, as usual quite a few made between R10,000 and R20,000 (approx. £834 to £1,668) each. A few made between R20,000 and R30,000 (£1,668 to £2,500) each. As I finish off this report 11 of the auctions have already taken place, which leaves plenty more to complete the sale of all the pigeons that returned. Many pigeons were still making big money with one making R16,200 (approx. £1,350), another making R19,000 (approx. £1,584) but the one that has amazed everybody was sold at Edenvale and this was PLUTOLOGY and raced under the Manchester Maestros and bred by Crehan & O’Connor from Manchester, which sold for a staggering R170,000 (approx. £14,167). Well done guys, you certainly deserve this as this pigeon actually finished 12 times in the top 100 and won numerous lots of Nomination Money and Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes and must rate as one of the best pigeons ever to fly in the SCMDPR series over the past 16 years.
The Cape Town auction also fetched big sums with HEINZ V selling for R44,000 (approx. £3,667), SORINA selling for R16,500 (approx. £1,375) and last but not least SPANISH IDENTITY, sold for R21,000 (approx. £1,750) who is the nestmate to PLUTOLOGY which is mention above. WHAT A FANTASTIC PAIR OF NESTMATES THESE TWO TURNED OUT TO BE. WELL DONE GUYS.
It just goes to show the world wide demand for the pigeons that complete this international race. This is also great news for the breeders of these pigeons, as they get 50% of the auction figures after expenses have been deducted. So if you pigeon/s complete the Final Race, you have an extra cash bonus coming your way.
*****SPECIAL NOTIFICATION***** Now the remaining 2,350 plus pigeons that have returned from the race have to be sold all over South Africa and that in itself is another massive task and over 50 different venues all over South Africa have already been selected and are available for all to see on our dedicated web site:- www.scmdpr.com if you want to see where your pigeon/s are being sold then all the information can be found by hitting the AUCTION button on the top left hand side of the home page. More will probably be added as other pigeons return from the race. However, it should be pointed out that NO AUCTION MONEY will be paid out until after the last auction has taken place and that is currently scheduled for the end of APRIL 2012. After all the auction sales have taken place, the funds for your pigeons will be transferred into your own personal ASI account, which you can use these funds as a credit against your 2013 SCMDPR entries or have it paid into you own bank account. A few later auction sales may be added as more pigeons return from the Final Race. Keep an eye on the SCMDPR web site for these details. As other pigeons return to the lofts in Sun City, these will be added to a later online auction or auctions. So please keep your eyes open on the web site for the dates of these later auction sales.
SPECIAL THANKS must go Sara Blackshaw (Director of ASI) and all the staff at Air Sport Internationale SA (The Presenters Of The Race), Zandy Meyer (Race Director), Sun City (Resort Complex), Sun International (Event Host), Joan-e Holt (Public Relations), Marion Branford (Administation), Michael Holt (Systems Administrator), Pieter Saayman (Assistant Systems Administrator), Dave van der Merwe (Loft Manager), Andre van Wyk (Loft Manager), Corrie Naude (Trainer), Dr. Marthinus Hartman (Veterinary Officer), Dr. Le Grange (Veterinary Officer), Alan Jordaan (Stage Interviewer), Paul Smith (International Race Co-ordinator & United Kingdom Race Team Shipper), Cornay Smit (Attorney for ASI), Henri Stiglingh (International Ambassador), Johan Van Der Nest and Team (Auctioneer), Deirdre Kallmeyer (African Olive Travel Concepts), E. Coetsee & Kie (Independent Auditors), Ben the Blogger (Online Photographs, plus Twitter & Facebook articles), Peter Morey (Official Photographer), Peter Furstenberg and all his staff Shine Interactive, our web designers plus of course the eight loft assistants who were Patrick Ngwangushe, Meshack Daldla, Thulani Khumalo, Brian Nsizwane, Meshack Makhanye, Eddie Ngwangushe, Phillios Letsema and Alfheus Mbuli. Without these people, plus the camera crews, technical teams, and of course all the COUNTRY and REGIONAL RACE SHIPPER’S this race would be impossible to run. Another company that has given us tremendous help and assistance since the race started is HELLMANN WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS as they are responsible for most of the pigeons from all parts of the world. SO A REAL “BIG” THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORTS DURING THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES. WHAT A GREAT “TEAM” THEY ALL MAKE.
We must also once again thank all our sponsors:- SUN INTENATIONAL, SUN CITY RESORT, RICOH, MEDPET, ROHNFRIED, SUDHOFF VETERINARY PRODUCTS, SHINE INTERACTIVE, PIGEONS ON LINE, TURF PET HYPER, SPARKIE GRIT and of course DEISTER ELECTRONIC (UNIKON) for their continued support in this truly great international pigeon race, plus of course AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE SA who of course are The Presenters Of The Race.
*****SOME STATS THAT MIGHT AMAZE YOU!*****
Once again the SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR WEB SITE has been a resounding success and it is without doubt the greatest and most informative one loft web site in the world today and this is backed up by figures that not many international companies can boast about. Every year from day one our “HITS” on the web site have increased and the 2005/6 series was no exception and the organisers are very proud to announce that we had over 14.047 MILLION “HITS” (14047261) and 173386 visits, plus during the 2005/6 race series, in fact the average time fanciers spent on this web site every time they logged on was 21 minutes. Just to show the interest this race and web site have, the 2004/5 race attracted 9.8 MILLION “HITS”, 2003/4 had 5 MILLION and the 2002/3 had 3 MILLION. The organisers believe in keeping fanciers/entrants up to date with the progress of the pigeons in the lofts and pigeon fanciers the world over love to go through all this information. It was announced that up to December 2006 the web site had 168,364 unique visitors and because of a change over of server the January and February 2007 figures are not yet to hand but I can tell you that in just 5 days from Sunday 18th February to Thursday 22nd February 2007 the web site had 31,500 visitors and over 2.5 million “HITS”. This just goes to prove to every fancier all over the world the interest there is in this great race. The 14 millions “HITS” for the 2005/6 race was easily exceeded for the 2006/7 race and this figure went up to around 18 million “HITS”. Once again this outstanding web site during the 2007/8 race series rose to a staggering 20 million “HITS” plus, over the whole race series and just to show fanciers all over the world the interest this race does create, the figures for November 2007 were over 1.53 million “HITS”, followed by 2.22 “HITS” during December 2007 and over 35,500 visitors and well over 2.55 Million “HITS” in January 2008, with the actual race day attracting a total of 26,031 visitors and just short of 2 million “HITS”. Records are broken year after year as you can see. The month of February 2008 figures are not finalised at the time of going to press but I can tell you all that the figures for the first few days of this month, just after the 2008 race finished were looking great with nearly 31,000 visitors and a staggering 2.50 Million “HITS”. The “HITS” figures for the 2008/9 race series exceeds 25 million over the year and it was interesting to see that on the actual 2009 race day the web site had over 60,000 visitors, more than double the figure for the January 2009 race day, which equates to approximately 4.80 million “HITS”. The structure of the web site for the 2010 Final Race day differs now slightly to the last few years and it showed that there was 14,235 visits on the actual race day, with 318,436 pages reviewed and a staggering 2,555790 which equates to nearly 2.556 Million “HITS”, which once again broke the 2009 race record. I can now proudly reveal to the world that the SCMDPR Web Site actually had over 47 MILLION “HITS” during the 2009/10 race series. The three biggest months were November which saw 8.23 million “HITS”, then December had 4.23 million “HITS” and the biggest month of the year was January with a staggering 16.4 million “HITS”, which actually equate to 104,089 visitors during the month. The official figures for February 2010 are now to hand and this showed 6.72 million “HITS”. THESE FIGURES JUST SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE INTERNET! WHAT FIGURES WILL COME OUT OF THE 2010/11 RACE SERIES? ONE THING IS FOR SURE, IF YOU WANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PIGEONS ONCE THEY ARE IN THE LOFTS, THEN NO ONE LOFT RACE IN THE WORLD WILL GIVE YOU THE SORT OF INFORMATION THE SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE GIVE TO ITS ENTRANTS AND ALSO TO PIGEON FANCIERS THE WORLD OVER. EVERY YEAR WE INTRODUCE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION TO GET EVERYBODY UP TOO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA. JUST LOG ONTO:- www.scmdpr.com AND HAVE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER AND MORE INFORMATIVE STATE OF THE ART ONE LOFT WEB SITE IN THE WORLD TODAY. I can now proudly reveal that the record breaking “HITS” figures for the 2009/10 race series has been broken once again and for the 2010/11 race series now exceeds over 50 MILLION “HITS”. We changed servers during the 2010/11 race series and I now have the new figures from the last 3 months and they are as follows:- from 15th December to 31st December 2010 we had just over 4.25 MILLION “HITS”, followed by January 2011 a staggering 17.842 MILLION “HITS” and from 1st February to 16th February 2011 another 2.865 MILLION “HITS”. So in the two months from the 15th December 2010 to 16th February 2011 the SCMDPR Web Site had over 20.707 MILLION “HITS” which actually equated to 111,250 visits by 51,362 visitors. The actual race day had 4.105 MILLION “HITS” and the day after had 3.276 MILLION “HITS” and the Monday had 1.246 MILLION “HITS”. I AM SURE THAT THESE FIGURES MIGHT ASTOUND YOU BUT IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THE VALUE OF KEEPING FANCIERS INFORMED. Once again I am fairly positive that these figures will improve yet again during the 2011/12 race series. For the 2011/12 race series we once again had a new server and they handle their site figures slightly different to others in the past. However, we have some figures from them from 1st November 2011 to 31st January 2012 and this shows a total of 51,161 people visited this web site, with 341,340 visits, 51,161 unique visitors, with 4,687,072 page viewings, 294,482 visits with a return rate of 86.27%, with 46,858 visits which are classed 13.73% for new visitors. The overall result for “HITS” over the actual race year will probably exceed 60 MILLION “HITS” and probably many more if the truth was known. THIS JUST SHOWS THE WORLD THE INTEREST IN THIS GREAT RACE.
***** SHIPPING DATES***** This is now the time to start planning your pairings for the 2013 SCMDPR and my first shipping date has now confirmed as MONDAY 14th MAY 2012. PLEASE BOOK YOUR PIGEONS WITH US NOW SO WE KNOW HOW MANY NEW BASKETS WE NEED TO PURCHASE SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO SHIP YOUR PIGEONS BY A PROFESSIONAL ANIMAL SHIPPING COMPANY TO SOUTH AFRICA IN COMFORT USING OUR FABULOUS BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART PLASTIC SHIPPING CRATES WITH FOOD AND WATER CONTAINED FOR THE PIGEONS COMFORT THROUGHOUT THEIR JOURNEY TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION IN SUN CITY. To comply with all the current DEFRA rules/regulations we also have to notify them who will be sending out pigeons from the United Kingdom and they need these at least ten days before shipment departs. So please help us to help you so there are not any last minute hitches with shipping. Please call me today on 01279-812005 or 07860-568216 or SMS or email me at reglofts@aol.com and book your space, so you are guaranteed places on this shipment. YOUR PIGEONS FOR THE 2013 SCMDPR WILL NEED TO BE DELIVERED TO ME ON FRIDAY 11th MAY, SATURDAY 12th MAY OR SUNDAY 13th MAY 2011. AFTER 16 YEARS EXPERIENCE SHIPPING PIGEONS TO THIS GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF YOU INTEND TO ENTER THIS GREAT PIGEON RACE IT IS FAR BETTER TO SHIP YOUR PIGEONS IN THIS FIRST SHIPMENT AS THE PIGEONS HAVE LONGER TO SETTLE INTO THE LOFTS. HOWEVER, IF ANY FANCIERS WANT TO SHIP LATER THERE WILL BE A SECOND SHIPPING DATE AND THAT WILL BE ON MONDAY 9th JULY 2011. These dates may change slightly depending on Quarantine Regulations but all entrants will be kept informed of any changes.
THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have actually won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 11th OPEN in the last 4 years, plus numerous other great positions such as 6th, 6th & 8th in earlier years. Add to this all the major cash prizes won in the top 300 and the 6 x Brand New Motor Cars in Car Race Hot Spots, Numerous US$1,000 Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes, US$2,000 Two-Bird Average Cash Prizes, US£5,000 & US$1,000 Country Challenge Cash Prizes that team members have won over the past few years. This just goes to show that with your support and entries we can win this race again for the UNITED KINGDOM, by notifying you early of the proposed shipping date gives you all plenty of time to select youngsters from your best breeders or racers in your lofts. Then once you have entered your top class pigeons, following everything that happens in South Africa gives you three to four months of fun through our cold winter months and also the opportunity to travel out to watch the actual “FINAL RACE” and be part of the fabulous four days in Sun City from the 31st January to 4th February 2013. If you would like me to send you a the new RULES & REGULATIONS BROCHURE and ENTRY FORMS for the 17th SCMDPR then please contact me by email reglofts@aol.com or on telephone number 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS as soon as possible. If you feel you can’t afford to enter this race, why not try to get some family, friends, relations, work mates, club mates or business associates involved and form a small syndicate and enter some pigeons into the race. Many pigeons that have won top positions in the SCMDPR over the past few years have been entered in this way. It also gives any fancier in the world the opportunity to breed from their best pairs and try their pigeons out against the best in the world. Many fanciers have great pairs of pigeons that constantly breed top winners, so why not have a go and be part and support our NATIONAL TEAM and help “FLY THE FLAG FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM?” If the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM are going to win the SCMDPR again or be a force to be feared of, then we need more and more top fanciers to enter their top class pigeons. It has proved over the last few years that numbers do count and we all know that fanciers in this country do have the quality to get good results but one thing is for sure, that if you do not have any of your pigeons in the race, then you certainly will not win it. If you need any help or advice, please contact me by email or on any of the telephone numbers below. Your support will be greatly appreciated and you never know. An interesting fact emerged after the 2010/11 Final Race was that 33 United Kingdom Team pigeons won a prize which was an average of 46%. Belgium also had 46%, Netherlands 42%, South Africa 42%, with South Africa taking 42% and Germany 41% and United States Of America with 38%, which goes to prove once again that the United Kingdom pigeons do perform exceptionally well in this great race. Perhaps it could be your turn to win this truly international classic race in 2013?
*****”TRIP OF A LIFETIME”:- Why not think about booking a “Trip Of A Lifetime” with my group for the 2013 SCMDPR next January? If interested in a planned trip to South Africa, I will be only too pleased to assist and get you quotes from my Travel Agent in South Africa. I have arranged trips for literally hundreds of fanciers and friends over the last 16 years and everybody has had a great time. However, if you are interested, please do not leave it too late as all accommodation and flights will be at a premium, so the earlier you book the better it will be. Just ask anybody that has been out to watch this great International Pigeon Race and spend time in Sun City and all will tell you it is a wonderful experience that is second to none. Over the past few years, these few days in South Africa have been treated as a great winter holiday but of course in the glorious sunny weather that this country has to offer at this time of the year. Over the past few years, generally over 100 fanciers from the United Kingdom and Ireland travel out for this great spectacle, so why not make your mind up now to enjoy a winter break and at the same time entering a few pigeons so you have something to look forward to on the actual race day, which will take place on Saturday 2nd February 2013. If interested, then please call me asap on 01279-812005 or email me on reglofts@aol.com for further information.
I still have a few DVD’s available on the 15th Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race, anybody that is genuinely interested to see what actually happens in Sun City, South Africa during the actual race series can apply for an informative DVD. As I only have a limited supply of these they will be sent out free of charge on a first come, first served basis. So if you would like to see what happens just call me on 01279-812005 or email on reglofts@aol.com and I will get these sent out to you by return of post.
As I sure most of you are all aware I always spend a lot of time working on my International Press Releases and Newsletters keeping all competitors/entrants and pigeons fanciers in this country and all over the world informed about what is going on throughout the race series, hopefully you have all enjoyed my weekly reports and International Press Releases and I look forward to continuing these in the years to come. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE SUPPORTED ME AND THIS GREAT RACE IN THE PAST AND I ASSURE YOU THAT YOUR SUPPORT REALLY HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED BY MYSELF AND THE RACE ORGANISERS.
As most of you know, I have been involved with this SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE since its inception sixteen years ago and every year records are broken and it is now classed as one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa and one that they are very proud to host. Over the past sixteen years we have had about fifty different countries that have actually taken part and competed in this race, however the highest number has been 37 different countries participation at any one time and this of course varies depending on Ministry regulations in certain countries. It really is the true “OLYMPICS OF PIGEON RACING” and over the past sixteen years we have had many different countries entering this great International Race. It is great to see some new countries coming onboard and entering each year but if we are going to really call it the “OLYMPIC EVENT” we would love to have as many countries actually entering that take part in the “OLYMPIC GAMES”, then we really could then call the winning pigeon the “OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPION”. So if you or anybody in your country would like to participate then please get in touch with me by email on reglofts@aol.com or log onto my REGENCY LOFTS Web Site at www.regencylofts.com or the SCMDPR Web Site www.scmdpr.com for more information, we will be only too pleased to try to sort out export permits and shipping from your country. Over the past few years it has been great to see quite a few new countries enter and compete, with quite a few of them doing exceptionally well throughout the race series and in the “Final Race”. So why not get some of your top class pigeons entered into the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, that will take place again in Sun City, South Africa on Saturday 2nd February 2013.
*****PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED FOR THE 17th SCMDPR IN FEBRUARY 2013*****
It has been announced in the brand new 2013 SCMDPR brochure by ASI that the Prize Money for the next race is as follows:- There will now be a total of 300 cash prizes in the Final Race, plus another 50 x US$1,000 cash prizes in the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, making it now a total of 100 x US$1,000 cash prizes over the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, with 20 x US$1,000 cash prizes in each of the 5 Car Race Hot Spots. There is a US$5,000 Car Race Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Award, also 5 x US$2,000 2-Bird Average Competition in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, The International Challenge also now offers 5 x US$5,000 cash prizes and about 20 x US$1,000 cash prizes are on offer in Car Race Hot Spot 5, also 5 x Brand New Motor Cars valued at US$75,000, one on offer in each of the Car Race Hot Spots 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, a US$25,000 1st Prize for the Knockout Winner in the Final Race, The Sun City Grand Ace Pigeon Average is worth US$10,000 and is paid out US$5,000, US$3,000 and US$2,000, Ten Gold Pendants, which will make the total Prize Money and the 5 x Brand New Motor Cars now exceeds US$1.402 Million American Dollars (approx. £1 Million Pounds Sterling). Add to this all the Pools and Nominations that will be paid out during the 2011/12 race series and this total could get very close to US$2 Million American Dollars. I ASK YOU, WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FLY FOR THIS SORT OF PRIZE MONEY? The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is not just about the Final Race, it is now all about six races and that is the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and of course The Final Race. Plus you can lots of fun following all the other Wednesday and Saturday races from the start of the race series, in total the race series usually has between 25/28 actual races to follow on a daily basis.
Only the five times in the history of this great race has a country that has entered The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race has won 1st and 2nd Open in the same year. SOUTH AFRICA did it in 1999, then GERMANY did it twice in 2004 and 2007 and then the UNITED KINGDOM achieved this remarkable feat by doing it the 2009 SCMDPR. In the 16th SCMDPR 2012 the GERMAN TEAM achieved a remarkable result by winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Open. The UNITED KINGDOM TEAM also won 3rd & 5th in the 2011 race. Only six different countries have won this prestigious race since it started sixteen years ago and they are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUTH AFRICA, GERMANY, BELGIUM, UNITED KINGDOM and the CZECH REPUBLIC. Who will be the winner of the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE IN 2013. IT COULD BE YOU BUT FIRST OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO ENTER THIS GREAT RACE?
The SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE staff have now got a brand new SCMDPR INFORMATION PORTAL (TWITTER & YOUTUBE) for all fanciers around the world to view on their web site www.scmdpr.com so why not log onto it and see all the extra information, fantastic photographs and video clips on the 16th SCMDPR. All this updated information was being placed on the web site during the Final Race so that fanciers/competitors all over the world could follow what was happening in Sun City during the race weekend. ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE SCMDPR. WELL DONE TO “BEN THE BLOGGER”.
Whilst I was in South Africa and since I have returned home my telephone has hardly stopped ringing with fanciers from literally all over the country and from abroad requesting information on how they can enter the 2013 SCMDPR. It just goes to show how much this great race means to pigeon fanciers all over the world and to actually win it can change your life in more ways than one. One thing is for sure, if you do not enter it, then you certainly can’t win it. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY INFORMATION, CALL ME TODAY ON 01279-812005 or 07860-568216 or SMS or email me on reglofts@aol.com
This International Press Release has taken me a great deal of time to compile since I returned from my three weeks in South Africa but I thought it better not to try to rush it as I wanted to give all the credit to the fanciers that bred the pigeons and make sure the information I was giving was correct to the best of my knowledge and I hope you all agree it was worth waiting for?
I would once again like to personally thank Peter Morey from South Africa for the fabulous photographs he supplied me with for use in this International Press Release. This is the fourth year running he has assisted me and once again the quality of his work is really top class as I am sure you will all agree. Anybody wanting to log onto his web site www.petermoreyphotographic.co.za can do so and see all the other excellent work he does.
Once again I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in South Africa, the hospitality of the South African people is second to none and I strongly recommend that if you have never visited this continent then you consider entering this 17th SCMDPR and at the same time treat yourself to a “TRIP OF A LIFETIME”. I can certainly guarantee you will never regret it.
Many fanciers always seem to ask me and others why the German pigeons do so well in Sun City and yes whilst they do have exceptional pigeons, they also send the biggest team by a considerable number. Just take the Final Race this year they had 812 pigeons which were representing the Germany Team, the United Kingdom Team had just 265 which is just under a third of the German race entry. Over the past few years the United Kingdom Team has greatly increased its race entry and if we are going to keep our strong international challenge, then we must try to get more pigeons entered so that we end up with a larger and stronger entry in the Final Race. Two of our biggest race entries has resulted in the United Kingdom Team winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 11th and lots more high positions in the Final Race over the past four races, which really is a great result when compared with others. Just study the entry figures stated above in the International Press Release and you will see that also South Africa (532) and United States Of America (451) also had big entries in the Final Race and both these countries did well. ANY SUPPORT YOU CAN GIVE THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM WILL I ASSURE YOU, BE REALLY GREATLY APPRECIATED.
As I close this report so it can be sent off to the world press, I can now reveal that a total of 2,426 pigeons have now returned to the lofts and this includes 2,085 International, which actually has 184 United Kingdom and 28 Irish, plus 341 South African pigeons home. Of course quite a few more will hopefully work back to the lofts over the next few weeks. This is a 69.73% return rate which is an exceptionally high return rate for any International one loft race and something that the organisers should be very proud of. It should also be mentioned that the five Car Race Hot Spots had an overall return rate of 95.40% during the 2011/12 race series, which is remarkable figure for races of this distance. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.
I look forward to receiving your “BOOKING FORMS” over the next few weeks which will just confirm how many pigeons you wish to enter into the 17th SCMDPR and hope that once again the United Kingdom Race Team can break their entry record that we achieved in the 16th SCMDPR. Of course your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated as it will then give me the chance to make sure I have enough new shipping baskets to transport the United Kingdom Race Team out to South Africa. If you just want to call me on my home telephone number 01279-812005 instead of forwarding me the actual “BOOKING FORM” that will be OK by me. SO COME ON GUYS AND GIRLS, GET YOUR RACE ENTRIES IN EARLY AND LET’S GO FOR GOLD AGAIN IN THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL ONE LOFT PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY.
Paul Smith. International Race Co-ordinator & United Kingdom Race Team Shipper for The 16th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), which took place in Sun City Resort, South Africa on Saturday 28th January 2012.
Regency Lofts Limited, 2 Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England.
Telephone/Facsimile:-01279-812005 (Int. 044-1279-812005), Mobile:- 07860-568216.
Email:- reglofts@aol.com Regency Lofts Web Site:- www.regencylofts.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Sun City Million Dollar Web Site:- www.scmdpr.com
THE SUN CITY ACE PIGEON GRAND AVERAGES had now been up and running for 28 races that counted and the final results this year for the 2010/11 race series were as follows:- 1st & US$10,000 (approx. £6,667) going to pigeon named CLIFF TWO bred by BROUGH – DR MEYER from the SOUTH AFRICA, winning by a clear 32 minutes and 21 seconds, performances of this great pigeon were as follows:- 69th, 10th, 80th, 22nd and then 80th in the Final Race, then 2nd & US$5,000 (approx. £3,334) going to MAGGIE MAIDEN bred by LEIDEMAN - SPITHOVEN from NETHERLANDS and then 3rd & US$2,500 (approx. £1,667) going to SISTER SARAH for JANCAN from CANADA. Great to see the first 3 positions in this category were pigeons bred by fanciers from different countries. I feel I must mention 4th which actually went to pigeon named SUPREME ROYAL and was bred by KEN DARLINGTON from BARRY, SOUTH WALES and was the first UNITED KINGDOM pigeon to be placed in this category. The UNITED KINGDOM competitors did exceptionally well in this classification and actually had 6 pigeons represented in the top 82 and 17 pigeons in the top 197. Our Irish counterparts had 2 pigeons in the top 247. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THESE WINNERS.
In the US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10,US$20, US$50, US$100, US$200 & US$500 GLOBAL NOMINATIONS the total payout amounted to yet another record breaking US$83,170-80c (approx. £55,448-00p) and is only open for the original entrant or the person that purchased a Punter pigeon to be able to place a bet. The web site showed that a total of 803 pigeons, which included 63 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 11 pigeons from Ireland were entered and a total of 3,951 Nominations were actually placed on pigeons in this great race. UNITED KINGDOM pigeons in the results that won money and these were as follows:- 47th OPEN was LLOYD and KELLY from DIDCOT and their pigeon named NED KELLY won a cool US$6,596 (approx. £4,398), 51st OPEN for N+A EVANS and CUTHBERT from WOLVISTON with pigeon named BURNTOFT JAY who won US$646 (approx. £431), then 69th OPEN was R + P MONTILA from EVERTON, Nr. SANDY with SOLITAIRE SUPER VR which won US$646 (approx. £431), then 145th OPEN was MANCHESTER MAESTROS with SPANISH IDENTITY and bred by CREHAN & O’CONNOR from MANCHESTER and winning a very nice US$2,550 (approx. £1,700). IT WAS GREAT TO SEE A FEW UNITED KINGDOM FANCIERS PICKING UP A FEW OF THE NOMINATION PRIZES IN THE FINAL RACE. THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM MEMBERS REALLY HAD A FANTASTIC RACE SERIES AND WON MANY NOMINATION CASH PRIZES RIGHT THROUGHOUT THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE UNION JACK FLYING HIGH MANY TIMES.
Once again the US$1, US$2, US$5, US$10, US$20, US$50, US$100, US$200 & US$500 REGIONAL & COUNTRY NOMINATIONS were well supported and a record breaking grand total of US$31,434-05c (approx. £20,956) was competed and flown for by 10 different countries. The UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY NOMINATIONS were not that well supported and actually had only 9 pigeons entered and 40 nominations and actually paid out a grand total of US$942-65c (approx. £629) and was all on by KEN DARLINGTON from BARRY, SOUTH WALES with his pigeon named SUPREME ROYAL that took 313th OPEN in this Final Race. CONGRATULATIONS TO KEN DARLINGTON FOR HAVING THE CONFIDENCE TO GAMBLE ON HIS PIGEON. If you want to see the other winners in the other countries that competed, then please go to www.scmdpr.com and log onto the Nomination Races section.
During the 2009/10 race series a brand new competition started and was named the “CASCADE CHALLENGE” this is a US$10 SINGLE NOMINATION but the pigeon has to win 1st OPEN to win the prize money. It had been won 4 or 5 times during the 2011/12 race series but unfortunately nobody won “THE POT OF GOLD” in the “FINAL RACE” when a total of 180 pigeons were entered and this included 19 from the United Kingdom and 2 from Ireland. So the total of US$3,530 (approx. £2,354) will now rollover to the 2012/13 race series and the web site will give information when this competition will start. The first Nominated pigeon clocked in this category actually took 2nd OPEN for TEAM SYLT 2000 - GOEBEL - VARNEY from GERMANY with their pigeon named SYLY ORPHEUS. The best UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 549th for THE FARRIERS with pigeon named AIMEE LEES STAR which was an earlier winner of this competition and was bred by Brian Greenley from Malton. The best IRISH pigeon took 674th for MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named SUPERSTAR DJ. Maurice had also won this competition earlier on in the season with his great pigeon PANACKY PEET. As was seen during the 2011/12 series this competition is going to hard to win, so roll on next year 2012/13 and let us all have another go at winning this tough Single Nomination competition.
Over the past sixteen years THE FINAL RACE has achieved some wonderful records and stats to be proud of and once again one that surely is worthy of a mention is that all the five pigeons that won a BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR in Car Race Hot Spots 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 namely BURNTOFT SYDNEE (UNITED KINGDOM), SOLITAIRE SUPER VR (UNITED KINGDOM), GRIBBLES CHOICE THREE (UNITED KINGDOM), Bb31 (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) and ERINS TUITION (NETHERLANDS) were all officially clocked by Sunday evening. It should also be mentioned that the 5 x CAR RACE HOT SPOT ACE PIGEON WINNER “JADES JOY” FROM AUSTRALIA ALSO MADE IT HOME TO THE LOFTS IN SUN CITY. YET ANOTHER FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT AND RECORD FOR THE SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE.
Whilst it would be very nice to mention everybody that clocked pigeons in each race, logistically that is impossible as I am sure you will all understand, that is why Air Sport Internationale SA have spent a small fortune making all the information you might require available on their state of the art web site:- www.scmdpr.com so you or anybody else around the world can get all the information at the touch of a button and even get a print off if one is needed, all you need to do id go onto the web site and see Results & Listings, everything you need to see will be their for you to see.
Anybody can log on to the state of the art web site:- www.scmdpr.com and see what is happening on a daily basis. If you had entered the 2011/12 race series you would have already had twenty-eight races and fun throughout our winter months following the success of your own pigeons or syndicate pigeons or of course just following the results of one of your local fanciers or somebody you know. Why not just log on and have a look on a regular basis, you will be amazed at what information you can see and find? This web site is without doubt the most informative and up to date one loft web site in the world today and is continually improving certain aspects of this great race.
If you entered the 16th SCMDPR and were unlucky enough to lose your complete team or in fact any of your complete teams of three pigeons prior to the basketing for the Final Race and you had paid your US$25 (approx. £17) Registration Fee for each team you entered, then you are entitled to a “FREE ENTRY” into the 2013 SCMDPR providing none of them won any special prize money in the earlier races. *****PLEASE NOTE:- This rule only applies to individually registered teams, which means that the US$25 (approx. £17) Registration Fee was originally paid with each team of three pigeons. The date for the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE had already been confirmed and will take place in Sun City Resort, South Africa on SATURDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2013. Please add this date in your diary and try to enter some pigeons or even attend the biggest and greatest one loft race in the world today and the one with a proven track record!
If you need to know anything about the race or are not sure about something, you can also contact me and I will only too pleased to assist you and give you the answers to any questions or queries you might have, just call me on my home number 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email me on reglofts@aol.com I will be only too pleased to give you any advise you may require.
I would now like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and it should be mentioned that in the FINAL RACE the actual PRIZE MONEY that could be won in this race amounted to a staggering US$1.080 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS, which currently equates to roughly £700,000-00p POUNDS STERLING. There were 300 Cash prizes for the first 300 “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” clocked in the race, plus US$25,000 KNOCKOUT PRIZE, US$17,500 SUN CITY GRAND AVERAGE PRIZES. Also to add to this are ten superb GOLD MEDALS and all the other trophies that can be won in this truly prestigious international pigeon race. Add to this all the US$100,000 allocated for 5 x Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes (20 x US$1,000 Cash Prizes in all these 5 events), plus US$75,000 allocated for the 5 x Brand New Motor Cars in the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, US$10,000 for the two pigeon averages with US$2,000 allocated to each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, US$5,000 Hot Spot Car Race Ace Pigeon Award, plus US$25,000 International Country Cash Prizes (5 x US$5,000 Cash Prizes) and numerous others at US$1,000 Cash Prizes for other countries that got pigeons in the top 250 in the 5th Car Race Hot Spot Result. Then there was all the GLOBAL and COUNTRY NOMINATIONS & GLOBAL & COUNTRY/REGIONAL POOLS plus all the trophies, awards, diplomas to all mentioned above and you truly do have “THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY” and “THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD” which has paid out its projected prize money every year since day one. TOTAL PAID OUT IN THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES WAS CLOSE TO US$2 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS. No other pigeon race in the world can proudly state this type of payout and that is a fact.
SPECIAL THANKS must go to SUN INTERNATIONAL for once again letting us host The 16th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), in the magnificent Sun City Resort. It really is a wonderful setting for such a prestigious event such as this. All the staff at the Sun City complex always seem to go out of their way to make sure we all have a great time and I for one, am looking forward to seeing them all again next year. ONCE AGAIN A SPECIAL THANK YOU must also go to AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE who are The Presenters of this race, as without their support over the last fourteen years this race would never of been able to add these accolades to their advertising, brochures and web site, “THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY” and “THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD” and “MORE THAN 400 DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE A WINNER”. This has only been achieved by all the hard work and effort by all the staff employed by this great race and ASI, plus of course all the Country Shippers that do such a wonderful job in getting all the pigeons to Sun City for the race.
However, without the support of all the race entrants over the past sixteen years and all the fanciers and friends that travel out to Sun City for the race, this pigeon race would never of become what it is today and that is without doubt “THE BEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY”, so a BIG THANK YOU for your race entries and for those of you that have also deciding to travel out to South Africa to watch and be part of this great race. Once again it was great to see nearly 100 United Kingdom and Irish fanciers taking a well earned break in the sun to travel out to watch a be part of this great international race, they once again they represented their countries in a great manner. I look forward to seeing you all again next year when perhaps one or more fanciers from these two countries can once again win some major cash prizes during the 2012/13 race series. YOUR SUPPORT WAS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
*****ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE SCMDPR***** For the first time ever for the 2010/11 SCMDPR an online auction facility had been set up on the SCMDPR Web Site www.scmdpr.com which would allow fanciers from literally all over the world to place “BIDS” online. This of course should help the eventual sale price of all of the pigeons that have returned from the race. Anybody wishing to place “BIDS” online must first register with the Administration Office in South Africa, once this has been done and agreed, you can then log onto any of the 51 auctions and place your “BIDS”. The first 100 pigeons were all sold in the Superbowl and then there are a further 50 auction sales all over South Africa with 45 pigeons in each. All the conditions are listed on the SCMDPR Web Site for all to see, so if you are genuinely interested, please get in touch as soon as possible.
*****THE AUCTION OF THE TOP 100 PIGEONS*****
As usual the first 100 pigeons were auctioned on Sunday morning and this year they were auctioned by JOHAN VEN DER NEST and his team from SOUTH AFRICA in the Superbowl at 09-00 and ALAN JORDAAN from SOUTH AFRICA read out the conditions of the sale and then told fanciers that pigeons could now be exported from South Africa and that if anybody wished to bid for a pigeon or pigeons the SCMDPR loft staff would arrange for the export to take place once all the auctions has finished. PAUL SMITH from UNITED KINGDOM and AUGUST DAELEMANS from BELGIUM once again assisted the auctioneers during this fantastic auction. The audience in the Superbowl were once again determined to buy the best and this was showed by the prices they were bidding. The auction was a resounding success with pigeons fetching record prices and these 100 pigeons raised a staggering total of ZAR2.1 Million South African Rand (approx. £175,000 Pounds Sterling), an average of around £1,750 per pigeon.
This just goes to show fanciers all over the world the interest there is in purchasing pigeons that compete in this great race. Just to give you an example of what the top pigeons made this year, I will now list a few:- The winning pigeon RUBELLOS that won 1st OPEN in the 16th SCMDPR and owned and entered by TEAM RUHR - SCHINK from GERMANY fetched a staggering R250,000 (approx. £20,834). Then the pigeon SYLT ORPHEUS that won 2nd OPEN owned by TEAM SYLT 2000 - GOEBEL-VARNEY from GERMANY fetched a staggering R360,000 (approx. £30,000), both the 1st and 2nd OPEN WINNERS were purchased by MARK KITCHENBRAND from SOUTH AFRICA and these two pigeons would join many of the past SCMDPR winners at stud that he has purchased over the past few years, 3rd OPEN was pigeon named LUKE DONALD and entered by RUEDIGER SCHOENAU from GERMANY fetched R35,000 (approx. £2,917), 4th Open fetched R20,000 (£1,667), 5th Open fetched R12,000 (£1,000), 6th Open fetched R25,000 (£2,084), 7th Open fetched R28,000 (£2,334), 8th Open fetched R18,000 (£1,500), 9th Open fetched R15,000 (£1,250) and 10th Open fetched R12,000 (£1,000). Many more pigeons fetched between R20,000 (£1,667) and R45,000 (£3,750) each. The 36th Open was the KNOCKOUT WINNER and that sold for R90,000 (£7,500), then 59th Open was an outstanding winning pigeon named SUGAR SHACK that had previously won 63rd, 69th, 62nd, 29th and 167th in the 5 x CAR RACE HOT SPOTS and then 59th OPEN in THE FINAL RACE that sold for a staggering R290,000 (£24,167) and then 80th Open was the SUN CITY OVERALL ACE PIGEON sold for R55,000 (£4,584). The auction finished at 13-00 and thanks must go to JOHAN VAN DER NEST and his other two staff for conducting this great sale. A big thank you must also go to AUGUST DAELEMANS from BELGIUM and PAUL SMITH from UNITED KINGDOM for their help and assistance during this fantastic auction. This once again just goes to show that if you are lucky enough to get a top class pigeon in the prestigious race you are looking at it fetching a small fortune and that can only be good news for all concerned because the breeder gets 50% of this sum after expenses have been deducted. WHAT A GREAT EXTRA REWARD IF YOUR PIGEON PERFORMS WELL DURING THE SCMDPR SERIES. ZANDY MEYER (Race Director) then thanked the auctioneer and assistants plus everybody concerned for their “BIDS” and wished everybody a safe journey home and looked forward to seeing everybody again next year.
The later auction sales around South Africa have once again attracted some big prices, probably due to the new online bidding service that started last year and it was great to see that after pigeons had battled to get home in a really tough race made good prices. There were 50 further auctions all around South Africa and they averaged about 45 pigeons per auction which started on Saturday 18th February 2012 and which should be good news for the owners. Many of these gallant pigeons fetched top prices with lots making over R10,000 (approx. £834) each. However, as usual quite a few made between R10,000 and R20,000 (approx. £834 to £1,668) each. A few made between R20,000 and R30,000 (£1,668 to £2,500) each. As I finish off this report 11 of the auctions have already taken place, which leaves plenty more to complete the sale of all the pigeons that returned. Many pigeons were still making big money with one making R16,200 (approx. £1,350), another making R19,000 (approx. £1,584) but the one that has amazed everybody was sold at Edenvale and this was PLUTOLOGY and raced under the Manchester Maestros and bred by Crehan & O’Connor from Manchester, which sold for a staggering R170,000 (approx. £14,167). Well done guys, you certainly deserve this as this pigeon actually finished 12 times in the top 100 and won numerous lots of Nomination Money and Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes and must rate as one of the best pigeons ever to fly in the SCMDPR series over the past 16 years.
The Cape Town auction also fetched big sums with HEINZ V selling for R44,000 (approx. £3,667), SORINA selling for R16,500 (approx. £1,375) and last but not least SPANISH IDENTITY, sold for R21,000 (approx. £1,750) who is the nestmate to PLUTOLOGY which is mention above. WHAT A FANTASTIC PAIR OF NESTMATES THESE TWO TURNED OUT TO BE. WELL DONE GUYS.
It just goes to show the world wide demand for the pigeons that complete this international race. This is also great news for the breeders of these pigeons, as they get 50% of the auction figures after expenses have been deducted. So if you pigeon/s complete the Final Race, you have an extra cash bonus coming your way.
*****SPECIAL NOTIFICATION***** Now the remaining 2,350 plus pigeons that have returned from the race have to be sold all over South Africa and that in itself is another massive task and over 50 different venues all over South Africa have already been selected and are available for all to see on our dedicated web site:- www.scmdpr.com if you want to see where your pigeon/s are being sold then all the information can be found by hitting the AUCTION button on the top left hand side of the home page. More will probably be added as other pigeons return from the race. However, it should be pointed out that NO AUCTION MONEY will be paid out until after the last auction has taken place and that is currently scheduled for the end of APRIL 2012. After all the auction sales have taken place, the funds for your pigeons will be transferred into your own personal ASI account, which you can use these funds as a credit against your 2013 SCMDPR entries or have it paid into you own bank account. A few later auction sales may be added as more pigeons return from the Final Race. Keep an eye on the SCMDPR web site for these details. As other pigeons return to the lofts in Sun City, these will be added to a later online auction or auctions. So please keep your eyes open on the web site for the dates of these later auction sales.
SPECIAL THANKS must go Sara Blackshaw (Director of ASI) and all the staff at Air Sport Internationale SA (The Presenters Of The Race), Zandy Meyer (Race Director), Sun City (Resort Complex), Sun International (Event Host), Joan-e Holt (Public Relations), Marion Branford (Administation), Michael Holt (Systems Administrator), Pieter Saayman (Assistant Systems Administrator), Dave van der Merwe (Loft Manager), Andre van Wyk (Loft Manager), Corrie Naude (Trainer), Dr. Marthinus Hartman (Veterinary Officer), Dr. Le Grange (Veterinary Officer), Alan Jordaan (Stage Interviewer), Paul Smith (International Race Co-ordinator & United Kingdom Race Team Shipper), Cornay Smit (Attorney for ASI), Henri Stiglingh (International Ambassador), Johan Van Der Nest and Team (Auctioneer), Deirdre Kallmeyer (African Olive Travel Concepts), E. Coetsee & Kie (Independent Auditors), Ben the Blogger (Online Photographs, plus Twitter & Facebook articles), Peter Morey (Official Photographer), Peter Furstenberg and all his staff Shine Interactive, our web designers plus of course the eight loft assistants who were Patrick Ngwangushe, Meshack Daldla, Thulani Khumalo, Brian Nsizwane, Meshack Makhanye, Eddie Ngwangushe, Phillios Letsema and Alfheus Mbuli. Without these people, plus the camera crews, technical teams, and of course all the COUNTRY and REGIONAL RACE SHIPPER’S this race would be impossible to run. Another company that has given us tremendous help and assistance since the race started is HELLMANN WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS as they are responsible for most of the pigeons from all parts of the world. SO A REAL “BIG” THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORTS DURING THE 2011/12 RACE SERIES. WHAT A GREAT “TEAM” THEY ALL MAKE.
We must also once again thank all our sponsors:- SUN INTENATIONAL, SUN CITY RESORT, RICOH, MEDPET, ROHNFRIED, SUDHOFF VETERINARY PRODUCTS, SHINE INTERACTIVE, PIGEONS ON LINE, TURF PET HYPER, SPARKIE GRIT and of course DEISTER ELECTRONIC (UNIKON) for their continued support in this truly great international pigeon race, plus of course AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE SA who of course are The Presenters Of The Race.
*****SOME STATS THAT MIGHT AMAZE YOU!*****
Once again the SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR WEB SITE has been a resounding success and it is without doubt the greatest and most informative one loft web site in the world today and this is backed up by figures that not many international companies can boast about. Every year from day one our “HITS” on the web site have increased and the 2005/6 series was no exception and the organisers are very proud to announce that we had over 14.047 MILLION “HITS” (14047261) and 173386 visits, plus during the 2005/6 race series, in fact the average time fanciers spent on this web site every time they logged on was 21 minutes. Just to show the interest this race and web site have, the 2004/5 race attracted 9.8 MILLION “HITS”, 2003/4 had 5 MILLION and the 2002/3 had 3 MILLION. The organisers believe in keeping fanciers/entrants up to date with the progress of the pigeons in the lofts and pigeon fanciers the world over love to go through all this information. It was announced that up to December 2006 the web site had 168,364 unique visitors and because of a change over of server the January and February 2007 figures are not yet to hand but I can tell you that in just 5 days from Sunday 18th February to Thursday 22nd February 2007 the web site had 31,500 visitors and over 2.5 million “HITS”. This just goes to prove to every fancier all over the world the interest there is in this great race. The 14 millions “HITS” for the 2005/6 race was easily exceeded for the 2006/7 race and this figure went up to around 18 million “HITS”. Once again this outstanding web site during the 2007/8 race series rose to a staggering 20 million “HITS” plus, over the whole race series and just to show fanciers all over the world the interest this race does create, the figures for November 2007 were over 1.53 million “HITS”, followed by 2.22 “HITS” during December 2007 and over 35,500 visitors and well over 2.55 Million “HITS” in January 2008, with the actual race day attracting a total of 26,031 visitors and just short of 2 million “HITS”. Records are broken year after year as you can see. The month of February 2008 figures are not finalised at the time of going to press but I can tell you all that the figures for the first few days of this month, just after the 2008 race finished were looking great with nearly 31,000 visitors and a staggering 2.50 Million “HITS”. The “HITS” figures for the 2008/9 race series exceeds 25 million over the year and it was interesting to see that on the actual 2009 race day the web site had over 60,000 visitors, more than double the figure for the January 2009 race day, which equates to approximately 4.80 million “HITS”. The structure of the web site for the 2010 Final Race day differs now slightly to the last few years and it showed that there was 14,235 visits on the actual race day, with 318,436 pages reviewed and a staggering 2,555790 which equates to nearly 2.556 Million “HITS”, which once again broke the 2009 race record. I can now proudly reveal to the world that the SCMDPR Web Site actually had over 47 MILLION “HITS” during the 2009/10 race series. The three biggest months were November which saw 8.23 million “HITS”, then December had 4.23 million “HITS” and the biggest month of the year was January with a staggering 16.4 million “HITS”, which actually equate to 104,089 visitors during the month. The official figures for February 2010 are now to hand and this showed 6.72 million “HITS”. THESE FIGURES JUST SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE INTERNET! WHAT FIGURES WILL COME OUT OF THE 2010/11 RACE SERIES? ONE THING IS FOR SURE, IF YOU WANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PIGEONS ONCE THEY ARE IN THE LOFTS, THEN NO ONE LOFT RACE IN THE WORLD WILL GIVE YOU THE SORT OF INFORMATION THE SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE GIVE TO ITS ENTRANTS AND ALSO TO PIGEON FANCIERS THE WORLD OVER. EVERY YEAR WE INTRODUCE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION TO GET EVERYBODY UP TOO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA. JUST LOG ONTO:- www.scmdpr.com AND HAVE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER AND MORE INFORMATIVE STATE OF THE ART ONE LOFT WEB SITE IN THE WORLD TODAY. I can now proudly reveal that the record breaking “HITS” figures for the 2009/10 race series has been broken once again and for the 2010/11 race series now exceeds over 50 MILLION “HITS”. We changed servers during the 2010/11 race series and I now have the new figures from the last 3 months and they are as follows:- from 15th December to 31st December 2010 we had just over 4.25 MILLION “HITS”, followed by January 2011 a staggering 17.842 MILLION “HITS” and from 1st February to 16th February 2011 another 2.865 MILLION “HITS”. So in the two months from the 15th December 2010 to 16th February 2011 the SCMDPR Web Site had over 20.707 MILLION “HITS” which actually equated to 111,250 visits by 51,362 visitors. The actual race day had 4.105 MILLION “HITS” and the day after had 3.276 MILLION “HITS” and the Monday had 1.246 MILLION “HITS”. I AM SURE THAT THESE FIGURES MIGHT ASTOUND YOU BUT IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THE VALUE OF KEEPING FANCIERS INFORMED. Once again I am fairly positive that these figures will improve yet again during the 2011/12 race series. For the 2011/12 race series we once again had a new server and they handle their site figures slightly different to others in the past. However, we have some figures from them from 1st November 2011 to 31st January 2012 and this shows a total of 51,161 people visited this web site, with 341,340 visits, 51,161 unique visitors, with 4,687,072 page viewings, 294,482 visits with a return rate of 86.27%, with 46,858 visits which are classed 13.73% for new visitors. The overall result for “HITS” over the actual race year will probably exceed 60 MILLION “HITS” and probably many more if the truth was known. THIS JUST SHOWS THE WORLD THE INTEREST IN THIS GREAT RACE.
***** SHIPPING DATES***** This is now the time to start planning your pairings for the 2013 SCMDPR and my first shipping date has now confirmed as MONDAY 14th MAY 2012. PLEASE BOOK YOUR PIGEONS WITH US NOW SO WE KNOW HOW MANY NEW BASKETS WE NEED TO PURCHASE SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO SHIP YOUR PIGEONS BY A PROFESSIONAL ANIMAL SHIPPING COMPANY TO SOUTH AFRICA IN COMFORT USING OUR FABULOUS BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART PLASTIC SHIPPING CRATES WITH FOOD AND WATER CONTAINED FOR THE PIGEONS COMFORT THROUGHOUT THEIR JOURNEY TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION IN SUN CITY. To comply with all the current DEFRA rules/regulations we also have to notify them who will be sending out pigeons from the United Kingdom and they need these at least ten days before shipment departs. So please help us to help you so there are not any last minute hitches with shipping. Please call me today on 01279-812005 or 07860-568216 or SMS or email me at reglofts@aol.com and book your space, so you are guaranteed places on this shipment. YOUR PIGEONS FOR THE 2013 SCMDPR WILL NEED TO BE DELIVERED TO ME ON FRIDAY 11th MAY, SATURDAY 12th MAY OR SUNDAY 13th MAY 2011. AFTER 16 YEARS EXPERIENCE SHIPPING PIGEONS TO THIS GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF YOU INTEND TO ENTER THIS GREAT PIGEON RACE IT IS FAR BETTER TO SHIP YOUR PIGEONS IN THIS FIRST SHIPMENT AS THE PIGEONS HAVE LONGER TO SETTLE INTO THE LOFTS. HOWEVER, IF ANY FANCIERS WANT TO SHIP LATER THERE WILL BE A SECOND SHIPPING DATE AND THAT WILL BE ON MONDAY 9th JULY 2011. These dates may change slightly depending on Quarantine Regulations but all entrants will be kept informed of any changes.
THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have actually won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 11th OPEN in the last 4 years, plus numerous other great positions such as 6th, 6th & 8th in earlier years. Add to this all the major cash prizes won in the top 300 and the 6 x Brand New Motor Cars in Car Race Hot Spots, Numerous US$1,000 Car Race Hot Spot Cash Prizes, US$2,000 Two-Bird Average Cash Prizes, US£5,000 & US$1,000 Country Challenge Cash Prizes that team members have won over the past few years. This just goes to show that with your support and entries we can win this race again for the UNITED KINGDOM, by notifying you early of the proposed shipping date gives you all plenty of time to select youngsters from your best breeders or racers in your lofts. Then once you have entered your top class pigeons, following everything that happens in South Africa gives you three to four months of fun through our cold winter months and also the opportunity to travel out to watch the actual “FINAL RACE” and be part of the fabulous four days in Sun City from the 31st January to 4th February 2013. If you would like me to send you a the new RULES & REGULATIONS BROCHURE and ENTRY FORMS for the 17th SCMDPR then please contact me by email reglofts@aol.com or on telephone number 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS as soon as possible. If you feel you can’t afford to enter this race, why not try to get some family, friends, relations, work mates, club mates or business associates involved and form a small syndicate and enter some pigeons into the race. Many pigeons that have won top positions in the SCMDPR over the past few years have been entered in this way. It also gives any fancier in the world the opportunity to breed from their best pairs and try their pigeons out against the best in the world. Many fanciers have great pairs of pigeons that constantly breed top winners, so why not have a go and be part and support our NATIONAL TEAM and help “FLY THE FLAG FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM?” If the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM are going to win the SCMDPR again or be a force to be feared of, then we need more and more top fanciers to enter their top class pigeons. It has proved over the last few years that numbers do count and we all know that fanciers in this country do have the quality to get good results but one thing is for sure, that if you do not have any of your pigeons in the race, then you certainly will not win it. If you need any help or advice, please contact me by email or on any of the telephone numbers below. Your support will be greatly appreciated and you never know. An interesting fact emerged after the 2010/11 Final Race was that 33 United Kingdom Team pigeons won a prize which was an average of 46%. Belgium also had 46%, Netherlands 42%, South Africa 42%, with South Africa taking 42% and Germany 41% and United States Of America with 38%, which goes to prove once again that the United Kingdom pigeons do perform exceptionally well in this great race. Perhaps it could be your turn to win this truly international classic race in 2013?
*****”TRIP OF A LIFETIME”:- Why not think about booking a “Trip Of A Lifetime” with my group for the 2013 SCMDPR next January? If interested in a planned trip to South Africa, I will be only too pleased to assist and get you quotes from my Travel Agent in South Africa. I have arranged trips for literally hundreds of fanciers and friends over the last 16 years and everybody has had a great time. However, if you are interested, please do not leave it too late as all accommodation and flights will be at a premium, so the earlier you book the better it will be. Just ask anybody that has been out to watch this great International Pigeon Race and spend time in Sun City and all will tell you it is a wonderful experience that is second to none. Over the past few years, these few days in South Africa have been treated as a great winter holiday but of course in the glorious sunny weather that this country has to offer at this time of the year. Over the past few years, generally over 100 fanciers from the United Kingdom and Ireland travel out for this great spectacle, so why not make your mind up now to enjoy a winter break and at the same time entering a few pigeons so you have something to look forward to on the actual race day, which will take place on Saturday 2nd February 2013. If interested, then please call me asap on 01279-812005 or email me on reglofts@aol.com for further information.
I still have a few DVD’s available on the 15th Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race, anybody that is genuinely interested to see what actually happens in Sun City, South Africa during the actual race series can apply for an informative DVD. As I only have a limited supply of these they will be sent out free of charge on a first come, first served basis. So if you would like to see what happens just call me on 01279-812005 or email on reglofts@aol.com and I will get these sent out to you by return of post.
As I sure most of you are all aware I always spend a lot of time working on my International Press Releases and Newsletters keeping all competitors/entrants and pigeons fanciers in this country and all over the world informed about what is going on throughout the race series, hopefully you have all enjoyed my weekly reports and International Press Releases and I look forward to continuing these in the years to come. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE SUPPORTED ME AND THIS GREAT RACE IN THE PAST AND I ASSURE YOU THAT YOUR SUPPORT REALLY HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED BY MYSELF AND THE RACE ORGANISERS.
As most of you know, I have been involved with this SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE since its inception sixteen years ago and every year records are broken and it is now classed as one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa and one that they are very proud to host. Over the past sixteen years we have had about fifty different countries that have actually taken part and competed in this race, however the highest number has been 37 different countries participation at any one time and this of course varies depending on Ministry regulations in certain countries. It really is the true “OLYMPICS OF PIGEON RACING” and over the past sixteen years we have had many different countries entering this great International Race. It is great to see some new countries coming onboard and entering each year but if we are going to really call it the “OLYMPIC EVENT” we would love to have as many countries actually entering that take part in the “OLYMPIC GAMES”, then we really could then call the winning pigeon the “OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPION”. So if you or anybody in your country would like to participate then please get in touch with me by email on reglofts@aol.com or log onto my REGENCY LOFTS Web Site at www.regencylofts.com or the SCMDPR Web Site www.scmdpr.com for more information, we will be only too pleased to try to sort out export permits and shipping from your country. Over the past few years it has been great to see quite a few new countries enter and compete, with quite a few of them doing exceptionally well throughout the race series and in the “Final Race”. So why not get some of your top class pigeons entered into the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, that will take place again in Sun City, South Africa on Saturday 2nd February 2013.
*****PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED FOR THE 17th SCMDPR IN FEBRUARY 2013*****
It has been announced in the brand new 2013 SCMDPR brochure by ASI that the Prize Money for the next race is as follows:- There will now be a total of 300 cash prizes in the Final Race, plus another 50 x US$1,000 cash prizes in the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, making it now a total of 100 x US$1,000 cash prizes over the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, with 20 x US$1,000 cash prizes in each of the 5 Car Race Hot Spots. There is a US$5,000 Car Race Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Award, also 5 x US$2,000 2-Bird Average Competition in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, The International Challenge also now offers 5 x US$5,000 cash prizes and about 20 x US$1,000 cash prizes are on offer in Car Race Hot Spot 5, also 5 x Brand New Motor Cars valued at US$75,000, one on offer in each of the Car Race Hot Spots 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, a US$25,000 1st Prize for the Knockout Winner in the Final Race, The Sun City Grand Ace Pigeon Average is worth US$10,000 and is paid out US$5,000, US$3,000 and US$2,000, Ten Gold Pendants, which will make the total Prize Money and the 5 x Brand New Motor Cars now exceeds US$1.402 Million American Dollars (approx. £1 Million Pounds Sterling). Add to this all the Pools and Nominations that will be paid out during the 2011/12 race series and this total could get very close to US$2 Million American Dollars. I ASK YOU, WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FLY FOR THIS SORT OF PRIZE MONEY? The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is not just about the Final Race, it is now all about six races and that is the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and of course The Final Race. Plus you can lots of fun following all the other Wednesday and Saturday races from the start of the race series, in total the race series usually has between 25/28 actual races to follow on a daily basis.
Only the five times in the history of this great race has a country that has entered The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race has won 1st and 2nd Open in the same year. SOUTH AFRICA did it in 1999, then GERMANY did it twice in 2004 and 2007 and then the UNITED KINGDOM achieved this remarkable feat by doing it the 2009 SCMDPR. In the 16th SCMDPR 2012 the GERMAN TEAM achieved a remarkable result by winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Open. The UNITED KINGDOM TEAM also won 3rd & 5th in the 2011 race. Only six different countries have won this prestigious race since it started sixteen years ago and they are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUTH AFRICA, GERMANY, BELGIUM, UNITED KINGDOM and the CZECH REPUBLIC. Who will be the winner of the 17th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE IN 2013. IT COULD BE YOU BUT FIRST OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO ENTER THIS GREAT RACE?
The SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE staff have now got a brand new SCMDPR INFORMATION PORTAL (TWITTER & YOUTUBE) for all fanciers around the world to view on their web site www.scmdpr.com so why not log onto it and see all the extra information, fantastic photographs and video clips on the 16th SCMDPR. All this updated information was being placed on the web site during the Final Race so that fanciers/competitors all over the world could follow what was happening in Sun City during the race weekend. ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE SCMDPR. WELL DONE TO “BEN THE BLOGGER”.
Whilst I was in South Africa and since I have returned home my telephone has hardly stopped ringing with fanciers from literally all over the country and from abroad requesting information on how they can enter the 2013 SCMDPR. It just goes to show how much this great race means to pigeon fanciers all over the world and to actually win it can change your life in more ways than one. One thing is for sure, if you do not enter it, then you certainly can’t win it. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY INFORMATION, CALL ME TODAY ON 01279-812005 or 07860-568216 or SMS or email me on reglofts@aol.com
This International Press Release has taken me a great deal of time to compile since I returned from my three weeks in South Africa but I thought it better not to try to rush it as I wanted to give all the credit to the fanciers that bred the pigeons and make sure the information I was giving was correct to the best of my knowledge and I hope you all agree it was worth waiting for?
I would once again like to personally thank Peter Morey from South Africa for the fabulous photographs he supplied me with for use in this International Press Release. This is the fourth year running he has assisted me and once again the quality of his work is really top class as I am sure you will all agree. Anybody wanting to log onto his web site www.petermoreyphotographic.co.za can do so and see all the other excellent work he does.
Once again I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in South Africa, the hospitality of the South African people is second to none and I strongly recommend that if you have never visited this continent then you consider entering this 17th SCMDPR and at the same time treat yourself to a “TRIP OF A LIFETIME”. I can certainly guarantee you will never regret it.
Many fanciers always seem to ask me and others why the German pigeons do so well in Sun City and yes whilst they do have exceptional pigeons, they also send the biggest team by a considerable number. Just take the Final Race this year they had 812 pigeons which were representing the Germany Team, the United Kingdom Team had just 265 which is just under a third of the German race entry. Over the past few years the United Kingdom Team has greatly increased its race entry and if we are going to keep our strong international challenge, then we must try to get more pigeons entered so that we end up with a larger and stronger entry in the Final Race. Two of our biggest race entries has resulted in the United Kingdom Team winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 11th and lots more high positions in the Final Race over the past four races, which really is a great result when compared with others. Just study the entry figures stated above in the International Press Release and you will see that also South Africa (532) and United States Of America (451) also had big entries in the Final Race and both these countries did well. ANY SUPPORT YOU CAN GIVE THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM WILL I ASSURE YOU, BE REALLY GREATLY APPRECIATED.
As I close this report so it can be sent off to the world press, I can now reveal that a total of 2,426 pigeons have now returned to the lofts and this includes 2,085 International, which actually has 184 United Kingdom and 28 Irish, plus 341 South African pigeons home. Of course quite a few more will hopefully work back to the lofts over the next few weeks. This is a 69.73% return rate which is an exceptionally high return rate for any International one loft race and something that the organisers should be very proud of. It should also be mentioned that the five Car Race Hot Spots had an overall return rate of 95.40% during the 2011/12 race series, which is remarkable figure for races of this distance. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.
I look forward to receiving your “BOOKING FORMS” over the next few weeks which will just confirm how many pigeons you wish to enter into the 17th SCMDPR and hope that once again the United Kingdom Race Team can break their entry record that we achieved in the 16th SCMDPR. Of course your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated as it will then give me the chance to make sure I have enough new shipping baskets to transport the United Kingdom Race Team out to South Africa. If you just want to call me on my home telephone number 01279-812005 instead of forwarding me the actual “BOOKING FORM” that will be OK by me. SO COME ON GUYS AND GIRLS, GET YOUR RACE ENTRIES IN EARLY AND LET’S GO FOR GOLD AGAIN IN THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL ONE LOFT PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY.
Paul Smith. International Race Co-ordinator & United Kingdom Race Team Shipper for The 16th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), which took place in Sun City Resort, South Africa on Saturday 28th January 2012.
Regency Lofts Limited, 2 Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England.
Telephone/Facsimile:-01279-812005 (Int. 044-1279-812005), Mobile:- 07860-568216.
Email:- reglofts@aol.com Regency Lofts Web Site:- www.regencylofts.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Sun City Million Dollar Web Site:- www.scmdpr.com