21st SAMDR - Final Race (2)
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:47 pm
CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 11th OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which was officially clocked at 14.14.52.50, just 18 minutes 43.21 seconds after the race winner, which won a cool US$7,000 (£5,833) for its efforts. This pigeon was also sold at auction after the race for ZAR215,000 (£13,438), 2nd UK, 13th Open Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot with pigeon named Jamie, which won US$7,000 (£5,833). This pigeon was also sold at auction after the race for ZAR21,600 (£1,350), 3rd UK, 35th Open Tim Atkin from Rugby with pigeon named Drinky, which won US$3,500 (£2,917). This pigeon was also sold at auction after the race for ZAR12,000 (£750), 4th UK, 55th Open Speedbird Strain - Aylesbury Bucks with pigeon named Demolition Lady bred by the late Peter Entwistle from Aylesbury, which won US$2,000 (£1,667), 5th UK, 58th Open Gran Canaria One Loft with pigeon named Zig bred by Mark Williams from Dyserth Lofts, which won US$2,000 (£1,667), 6th UK, 71st Open another for Millys Loft with pigeon named Dundee Boy bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, which won US$2,000 (£1,667), 7th UK, 74th Open Team Lincs with pigeon named Evden bred by Paul & Tracey Stacey from Sleaford, which won US$2,000 (£1,667), 8th UK, 80th Open another for Milly Loft with pigeon named I Love My Boys, which was also bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, which won US$1,750 (£1,458), 9th UK, 94th Open Manchester Maestros with their pigeon named Lady Lilly 3 bred by John Crehan from Manchester, which won US$1,750 (£1,458), 10th UK, 117th Open another for Millys Loft with pigeon named Dundee Magic bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, which won US$1,500 (£1,250), 11th UK, 121st Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administer by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Carlos Magic bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin, which won US$1,500 (£1,250), 12th UK, 124th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Lucky Dream bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, which won US$1,500 (£1,250), 13th UK, 136th Open Orbital Lofts, with pigeon named Orbital 2 bred by Roger Lowe from Reading, which won US$1,250 (£1,042) for High Stakes Jack as they Activated it because Roger did not Activate this pigeon. Roger entered 3 pigeons and got all 3 to the Final Race, great performance, 14th UK, 141st Open Grumpy Old Men, with pigeon named Billy Boy with pigeon bred by Tony Kent from Wareside, which won US$1,250 (£1,042), 15th UK, 163rd Open Zandys Dream Team, with pigeon named Zandys Star with pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, which won US$1,100 (£917), 16th UK, 181st Open another for Team Lincs with pigeon named Stamford, again bred by Paul & Tracey Stacey from Sleaford, which won US$1,100 (£917), 17th UK, 184th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Stansted Beauty bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, which won US$1,100 (£917), 18th UK, 190th Open another for Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mouintfitchet with pigeon named Stansted Gold bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, which won US$1,100 (£917), 19th UK, 195th Open Hilamb Syndicate, entered by Ken Ambler from Keighley and Hillcoat from Sowerby Bridge with pigeon named Jupiter bred by Ron Hillcoat from Sowerby Bridge, which won US$1,100 (£917), 20th UK, 201st Open Rutland Lofts, with pigeon named Scaff 2 bred by AJ Whitehouse from West Bromwich, which won US$1,000 (£833), 21st UK, 223rd Open Crammond, Langstaff & Gilbert from Fontwell and Windsor with pigeon named Southfield Pro bred by this partnership, which won US$1,000 (£833), 22nd UK, 232nd Open Trainspotters, with pigeon named King Waggy bred by Mr & Mrs K. Wagstaff, which won US$1,000 (£833), 23rd UK, 233rd Open UK Elite Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Essex Flash bred by Lee Fribbins from Frating, which won US$1,000 (£833), 24th UK, 237th Open another for Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot with pigeon named Fatso, which won US$1,000 (£833), 25th UK, 286th Open Estuary Syndicate, with pigeon named SL1 bred by Peter Oberholster from Keysoe, which won US$500 (£417), 26th UK, 291st Open another for Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, which won US$500 (£417) and 27th UK, 296th Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a second pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, which won US$500 (£417). A total of 133 United Kingdom pigeons were officially recorded, which was a fantastic result for the UK Team.
THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE for the first nominated pigeon clocked in the Final Race went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which won US$6,120 (£5,100) for its efforts. Sorry I can’t mention everybody that clocked pigeons but space does not permit, if anybody wishes to look at the full results they can log onto www.samdpr.com
CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING 1st IRELAND, 106th OPEN went to DONNELLY & KIRKWOOD, with pigeon named ZIMBA bred by KARL DONNELLY, which was officially clocked at 16.18.23.09, 2 hours 22 minutes 13.80 seconds after the race winner, winning US$1,500 (£1,250), Karl had travelled out to South Africa for the race but went home the day before the race finally took place, however sure he will be pleased to know we celebrated for you and the bill is on its way mate by pigeon post. All joking apart mate, WELL DONE. Then 2nd Ireland, 128th Open Philip & Mark Smith with their pigeon named Gaelic Hope, which won US$1,250 (£1,042), 3rd Ireland, 214th Open Moran & Bowden with their pigeon named Beautiful Alannah, which won US$1,000 (£833), 4th Ireland, 419th Open Padraig & Caoimhe with his pigeon named High Hopes, 5th Ireland, 421st Open Johnson & Leonard & Sons with their pigeon named Leonard Lad and 6th Ireland, 462nd Open Joe Kennedy & Son with his pigeon named Joshua. The Irish team got a total of 17 home.
THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE for the first nominated pigeon clocked in the Final Race went to PHILIP & MARK SMITH with their pigeon named GAELIC HOPE bred by PHILIP & MARK SMITH which won US$440 (£367) for its efforts.
GLOBAL NOMINATIONS ON THE FINAL RACE amounted to a staggering US$252,998.25c (£211,000) which included 114 pigeons entered at US$1,000 (£833) per pigeon entry fee with the top prize worth a cool US$85,000 (£70,883) for the Zandy Meyer Memorial Mercedes Car Entry and a grand total of 902 pigeons including 75 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 8 pigeons from Ireland and a total of 4,576 Global Nominations were actually placed. Once again the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM members did really well with MILLYS LOFT taking 11th OPEN with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE, this pigeon won a cool US$11,679 (£9,733), this pigeon also came 2nd in The Zandy Meyer Memorial Mercedes Car Nomination and won a further $11,900 (£9,917) for its efforts. WELL DONE MICHAEL A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT. Then LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT taking 13th OPEN with pigeon named JAMIE that won a cool US$6,596 (£5,497) for its efforts, then taking 74th OPEN was TEAM LINCS with pigeon named EVDEN bred by PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD which also walked away with a cool US$357 (£298), then MANCHESTER MAESTROS taking 94th OPEN with pigeon named LADY LILY 3 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER and this pigeon walked away with just US$17 (£14), then another for MILLYS LOFT taking 71st OPEN with their pigeon named DUNDEE BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR which won US$3,179 (£2,650) for its efforts and then last another for MILLYS LOFT taking 80th OPEN with pigeon named I LOVE MY BOYS once again bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE and winning US$1,445 (£1,204) for its efforts.. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS. IT REALLY HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING RACE SERIES FOR FANCIERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AS THEY HAVE WON MORE THAN THEIR FAIR SHARE OF GLOBAL NOMINATIONS RIGHT THROUGH THE 2016/17 RACE PROGRAMME.
REGIONAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM in the FINAL RACE amounted to US$3,451.85c (£2,877) with 50 pigeons entered with 225 Nominations and there was 4 fanciers sharing to spoils and these were as follows:- MILLYS LOFT took 11th OPEN with their pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which walked away with a cool US$2,295 (£1,913), then another for MILLYS LOFT in 71st OPEN with pigeon named DUNDEES BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which won US$807.50c (£673), then TEAM LINCS took 74th OPEN with pigeon named EVDEN bred by PAUL & STACEY TRACEY from SLEAFORD and this walked away with US$161.50c (£135), then MANCHESTER MAESTROS won 94th OPEN with their pigeon named LADY LILLY 3 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER and this pigeon won US$119 (£99)) and lastly another for TEAM LINCS in 181st OPEN with pigeon named STAMFORD bred by PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD which won US$68.85c (£57) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO THESE WINNERS.
THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 22 official races in the 2016/17 race series finished as follows:- 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN and US$10,000 (£8,334) went to MILLYS LOFT from UNITED KINGDOM with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 49.26.09.75 to cover the 22 races that counted, winning this category by 2 hours 2.58 seconds, 1st GERMANY, 2nd OPEN and US$5,000 (£4,167) went to REINHARD GEBHARDT from GERMANY with pigeon named AMAZING DAY bred by REINHARD GEBHARDT that took 50.21.16.89 to cover the 22 races that counted and then 1st SOUTH AFRICA, 3rd OPEN and US$2,500 (£2,083) went to THE PLATINUM LADYS from SOUTH AFRICA with pigeon named DALEEN bred by TRIPLE J LOFTS that took 50.37.33.39 to cover the 22 races that counted. It was amazing to see the pigeons that would have taken 2nd and 7th in this category, both were Defaulter Pigeons.
1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 49.26.09.75 to cover the 22 races that counted. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 18th OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 53.48.07.49 over the 22 races that counted. 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 34th OPEN went to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM with pigeon named ZANDYS STAR bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with a total flying time of 55.48.45.45 for the 22 races that counted.
1st IRELAND, 266th OPEN went to JOHN BYRNE & SON with their pigeon named SADHBH bred by this partnership with a total flying time of 78.23.05.80 in the 22 races that counted.
The 2-BIRD AVERAGE IN THE FINAL RACE carried a US$2,000 (£1,667) cash prize and that was won by MILLYS LOFT from the UNITED KINGDOM with pigeons named DUNDEES BACK and I LOVE MY BOYS with a total velocity of 33.039 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN was MILLYS LOFTS with pigeons named DUNDEES BACK and I LOVE MY BOYS with a total velocity of 33.039 m/s. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 21st OPEN was TIM ATKIN from RUGBY with pigeons named DRINKY and RANIERE ROCKET with a total velocity of 22.622 m/s. 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 25th OPEN was LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT with pigeons named JAMIE and SHES GOOD with a total velocity of 21.881 m/s. The UK had 12 teams in the top 82 in this category. 1st IRELAND, 97th OPEN was MORAN & BOWDEN with pigeons named BEAUTIFUL ALANNAH and FIGHTING ELLEN with a total velocity of 16.146.
The 3-BIRD AVERAGE IN THE FINAL RACE carried a US$3,000 (£2,500) cash prize and was won by STANLEY MEYLER from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeons named WEXFORD 18, WEXFORD 16 and WEXFORD 17 all bred by STANLEY MEYLER with a total velocity of 38.746 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 13th OPEN was SPEEDBIRD STRAIN - AYLESBURY BUCKS with pigeons named DEMOLITION LADY, AYLESBURY JEWEL and SHOCK-WAVE all bred by the late PETER ENTWISTLE from AYLESBURY with a total velocity of 24.480 m/s. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 15th OPEN was ORBITAL LOFTS with 3 pigeons all bred by ROGER LOWE from READING, 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 17th OPEN was LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with 3 pigeons bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH, 4th UNITED KINGDOM, 21st OPEN was PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH and with 3 pigeons bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from Laindon. There were no teams of 3 pigeons left for the IRELAND team. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS CONCERNED, YOUR PIGEONS SURE DID YOU PROUD.
THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION and a US$25,000 (£20,833) FIRST PRIZE and started off with 2,750 entries and the winner of this prestigious competition was TOM SCHILLING from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with their pigeon named LITTLE MISS NIKKI bred TOM SCHILLING that actually won 1st OPEN in THE FINAL RACE. The first UNITED KINGDOM pigeon was actually 2nd to the American pigeon and was clocked in 11th Open and belonged to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK and bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE. There were no Irish pigeon left in this competition. The original entry was 2,750 pigeons from 35 different countries and this figure included 236 from the United Kingdom and 37 from Ireland. There are 5 rounds including the FINAL RACE, so to win this competition takes a pigeon of some class. Only 69 entries were still left in this competition and only 24 were officially clocked. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WORTHY WINNER.
It was once again great to meet up and talk to such renowned fanciers as Stephen & Rhona Kearsey (Australia), Frank & Robin McLaughlin and two children (United States Of America), Willi van Beers, Alfons Klaas, Hardy Kruger, Paul-Hans Esser, Karl Heinz Wagner, Werner Waldow, Klaus Stieneker, Josef Bekker, Nadine Huenten and Hans Bruhl (Germany), Thomas Gyselbrecht (Pipa), Frank Daelemans, Michel Wouters, Philippe Brantegem, Norbert De Schrijver, Stan Van Beemen (Belgium), Henk Jurriens, Gerard Koopman, Kfelt Spithoven, Jan Hooymans and his son, Nicole De Weerd and Guy Van Der Auwera (Netherlands), Corrie Naude, Andre van Wyk, Martin Beneke, Alan Jordaan, Joe Gomes, Butch Einkamerer, Saville Penkin, Mark Kitchenbrand, Billy Kitchenbrand, Gaddin Brothers, Jurie & Daleen Erwee, Johann Grobbelaar, Roger Harris, Dave Gilbert, Herman van Rensberg, Gary Fang, Rob Conradie and Petra Stiglingh (South Africa), Jos Reilly, Gerry McCourt & Karl Donnelly (Ireland), Ali Barrak Al-Azemi and Bader Al-Jewesry from Kuwait, Mike & Debbie Ganus and Andy Skwiat and his mum Stephine from United States Of America, also a big group of Americans whose names I never got, Ian and Karen Brenner and their other friends from Australia, plus of course Lee Fribbins, Carly Huggins, John & Steve Best, John Crehan and family, Pieter Oberholster, Tadt Truszkowski from United Kingdom plus Paul Stokes all from the United Kingdom who has recently moved out to South Africa. Plus over the race weekend I also talked to many other top International and South African fanciers.
As the International Race Co-ordinator for the 21st year Paul Smith would like to personally thank all the Country Race Shippers/Co-ordinators, Frank Nebig from Animals To Fly, Martin Beneke the Auctioneer, All the Loft Lads, Keith McLintock & Btrett Lindsay from Big Brave Digital the Livestream Team, Peter Furstenberg from Shine Interactive, Ben (The Blog) Williams) and all the staff who work for the SAMDPR, all the backroom staff who we do not see and in fact anybody that has something to do for the SAMDPR a really BIG THANK YOU for all your help and assistance during the past year as without your help and support the race could not continue. I would also like to personally thank Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport Internationale, The Presenters of this Race) for her continued great support and taking this great race forward into the future. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY YOU ALL DO A STERLING JOB.
***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.
***WHAT COULD BE WON DURING THIS 2016/17 RACE SERIES*** Prizes and awards now added up to a staggering US$2.2 Million American Dollars £1.83 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars with a US$16,000 (£13,334) value, there is 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, International Country Challenge Cash Prizes on the Car Race Hot Spot 1 to 5, plus a Country Challenge Award for the first entered pigeon clocked in the Final Race. A Two Bird Average Competition and a US$2,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. A Three Bird Average Competition and a US$3,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. 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 the 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 50 pigeons still left in this competition). Then in the “FINAL RACE” on the 8th February 2017 there was also 10 magnificent gold pendants to be won worth well over US$1,000 (£833) each and now over US$1 Million American Dollars (£833,000) in Prize Money and 300 top cash prizes being on offer.
THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES CAR NOMINATION which has a US$1,000 (approx. £833) ENTRY FEE NOMINATION PER PIGEON also took place on the “FINAL RACE” and the winner of A BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$85,000 (approx. £70,883). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). This treasured award this year was won by TOM SCHILLING, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named LITTLE MISS NIKKI bred by TOM SCHILLING that actually won 1st OPEN and he walked away with this coveted CASH PRIZE of US$86,000 (£71,667). This new competition is only in its fourth year and this year had 114 entries and there was also a second prize of US$11,900 (£9,917) which went to the pigeon that took 11th OPEN for MILLYS LOFT from UNITED KINGDOM with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE. WELL DONE TO BOTH THESE GREAT FANCIERS.
***SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS*** I feel it would be very remiss of me if I did not mention the outstanding performance in the Final Race of MILLYS LOFT, who is MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE, UNITED KINGDOM. He had an fantastic Final Race with 4 pigeons in the top 117 pigeons in the OPEN result winning US$12,500 (£10,417) Prize Money, 1st OVERALL ACE PIGEON & US$10,000 (£8,334) the first UK pigeon ever to win this prestigious award. 2nd in THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES CAR NOMINATION and US$11,900 (£9,917). GLOBAL NOMINATIONS which totalled US$16,303 (£13,586) UK REGIONAL NOMINATIONS which totalled US$3,102.50c (£2,585). UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE in the Final Race winning US$6,120 (£5,100). 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN 2-BIRD AVERAGE in the Final Race and US$2,000 (£1,667). Plus his 1st pigeon clocked was the Runner-Up in THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION which carried a US$25,000 (£20,833) First Prize. HIS TOTAL WINNINGS ON THE FINAL RACE CAME TO A STAGGERING US$61,675 (£51,606). His 1st pigeon clocked then sold at auction for ZAR215,000 (£13,438). WHAT A MARVELLOUS RACE AND ONE OF THE BEST UNITED KINGDOM TEAM PERFORMANCES SINCE THE RACE STARTED 21 YEARS AGO. Well done mate you deserve all your success.
THE AUCTIONS of the top winning pigeons usually takes place the day after the race but this year because of the postponing of the race, it was decided to run the auction from Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel and get Martin Beneke (Auctioneer) to do the auction and at the same time allow telephone bidding. The top 50 winning pigeons were placed on the SAMDPR Web Site Home Page and this gave fanciers from all over the world an opportunity to place bids on any of these pigeons. These bids that were placed online would then be the opening bid when Martin opened the actual auction. People in the room and phone bids would be accepted and the highest bidder would purchase the pigeon. Currently there will around 34 auctions in total at different venues all over South Africa and all can be seen by logging onto www.samdpr.com and looking for the Auction Section of the right hand side of the Home Page or hitting the Auction button at the bottom of the Home Page. So far there are 1,530 pigeons to be offered for sale. If you wish to place a “BID” you can do by filling in an “AUCTION REPORT FORM” which is on the SAMDPR Web Site for downloading. Depending if more pigeons arrive home later, then extra pigeons may be added to the auctions already listed, please keep your eyes open to see where your pigeon/s are being sold. As usual the place was filled with fanciers from all over South Africa with many open phone lines which encouraged fanciers from all over the world to place their bids. The pigeons would be auctioned from 1st to 50th positions. The first 25 pigeons auctioned are all listed above in the first 25 OPEN positions, so I will not mention the names again, just give you the selling prices.
***AUCTION SELLING PRICES*** Lot 1 ZAR350,100 approx. (US$25,800)(£21,881)(E25,007), Lot 2 ZAR150,000 approx. (US$11,054)(£9,375)(E10,714), Lot 3 ZAR280,000 approx. (US$20,634) (£17,500) (E20,000), Lot 4 ZAR225,100 approx. (US$16,588) (£14,069) (E16,079), Lot 5 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 6 ZAR55,200 approx. (US$4,068) (£3,450) (E3,943), Lot 7 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 8 ZAR55,100 approx. (US$4,060) (£3,444) (E3,936), Lot 9 ZAR62,500 approx. (US$4,606) (£3,906) (E4,464), Lot 10 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 11 ZAR215,000 approx. (US$15,844) (£13,438) (E15,357), Lot 12 ZAR45,000 approx. (US$3,316) (£2,813) (E3,214), Lot 13 ZAR21,600 approx. (US$1,592) (£1,350) (E1,543), Lot 14 ZAR170,000 approx. (US$12,528) (£10,625) (E12,143), Lot 15 ZAR14,100 approx. (US$1,039) (£881) (E1,007), Lot 16 ZAR48,600 approx. (US$3,581) (£3,038) (E3,471), Lot 17 ZAR32,000 approx. (US$2,358) (£2,000) (E2,286), Lot 18 ZAR11,000 approx. (US$811) (£688) (E786), Lot 19 ZAR30,000 approx. (US$2,211) (£1,875) (E2,143), Lot 20 ZAR28,600 approx. (US$2,108) (£1,788) (E2,043), Lot 21 ZAR192,100 approx. (US$14,156) (£12,006) (E13,721), Lot 22 ZAR47,000 approx. (US$3,463) (£2,938) (E3,357), Lot 23 ZAR18,000 approx. (US$1,326) (£1,125) (E1,286), Lot 24 ZAR21,000 approx. (US$1,548) (£1,313) (E1,500), Lot 25 ZAR18,000 approx. (US$1,326) (£1,125) (E1,286).
The next 25 lots all sold between ZAR10,200 and ZAR100,000 each. THIS REALLY WAS AN OUTSTANDING AUCTION TO SAY THE LEAST. The top 50 pigeons fetched a staggering ZAR2,902800, or approximately US$213,913 or £181,000 or E210,000. The average price per pigeon worked out at ZAR58,056 or approximately US$4,278 or £3,620 or E4,200 each. This once again just goes to show the great value that top fanciers from all over the world put on pigeons that compete in the SAMDPR. Of course a BIG THANK YOU goes to MARTIN BENEKE for his auctioneering skills and all the other SAMDPR staff that helped and assisted during the time it took to sell all these 50 top class pigeons.
PRIZE MONEY THAT WAS ALLOCATED TO THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR “FINAL RACE” IS AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$200,000 (approx. £166,667), 2nd US$125,000 (approx. £104,167), 3rd US$75,000 (approx. £62,500), 4th US$50,000 (approx. £41,667), 5th US$35,000 (approx. £29,167), 6th US$20,000 (£16,667), 7th US$17,500 (£14,583), 8th US$15,000 (£12,500), 9th US$12,500 (£10,417), 10th US$10,000 (approx. £8,333), 11th/15th US$7,000 each (approx. £5,833), 16th/20th US$5,000 each (approx. £4,166), 21st/30th US$3,500 each (approx. £2,917), 31st/40th US$3,000 each (approx. £2,500), 41st/50th US$2,500 each (approx. £2,083), 51st/75th US$2,000 each (£1,667), 76th/100th US$1,750 each (£1,458), 101st/125th US$1,500 each (£1,250), 126th/150th US$1,250 each (£1,042), 151st/200th US$1,100 each (£917), 201st/250th US$1,000 (£833) and then 251st/300th US$500 each (approx. £417). (Subject to terms and conditions of entry). The actual cash prizes stated above represent exchange rates at the current time (approx. 1.20 to £) and may of course change at the time of each race depending what the currency exchange rate is on the actual race day.
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.star-pigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theloftreport.com www.hitchcock-pigeons.com www.pigeoncrazy.com www.oneloftracing.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 & enjoy.
The race date for THE 22nd SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed and this will once again take place in Heron Banks Golf & River Estate, Vaal River and the Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel, South Africa on Saturday 3rd February 2018.
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 22nd SAMDPR will be MONDAY 8th MAY 2017 so your pigeons will need to be with me by 14.00 on MONDAY 8th MAY 2017 and then the second one will be BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 29th MAY 2017, so your pigeons will need to be with me by 14.00 on MONDAY 29th MAY 2017. Please let me know ASAP how many pigeons you wish to enter into The 22nd SAMDPR and which shipment you would like them to go out on. Your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
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.
Once again the “HITS” on the SAMDPR Web Site have been remarkable to say the least and as soon as I get confirmed figures I will report them in a later International Press Release for all to see. In past years they have exceeded 80 million “HITS”. So this year I expect a figure in excess of 100 million “HITS” during the year.
If you wish to see photographs of things that happened during the 2016/17 race season, then please log onto www.samdpr.com and you can see a selection of photographs for all to see.
Many great statements over the years have been given by actual race winners but the one that stands out for me is what a past winner FILIP NORMAN from BELGIUM said “That winning the Million Dollar Pigeon Race was better than winning two Barcelona Nationals”. This just goes to show how important the SAMDPR is to the race winner.
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.
If you are interested in entering pigeons into the 22nd SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE and would like me to forward you information on how you can do it, then please contact me immediately on my home telephone number 01279-812005, mobile number 07860-568216, SMS message to mobile number or by email at reglofts@aol.com I will be only too pleased to forward you information about the race and how you can enter it.
It would be remiss of me not to personally thank the Gary Lance the owner of Heron Banks Golf & River Estate and the Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel and all the staff for the use of this fantastic venue, everything was outstanding to say the least and I know that everybody that visited the race this year really enjoyed this great place where everybody made you feel so welcome.
One thing is still for sure The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race is still the best and biggest one loft pigeon race in the world today and is the one that top fanciers all over the world want to do well in. It is run by a team of professionals and has paid out every dollar of its projected prize money every year for the past 21 years. One thing is for sure with this great race, that if you are lucky enough to get a top position in the Final Race, your pigeon or pigeons are really well rewarded. So why not enter some of your top class pigeons into the 22nd SAMDPR or try to form a syndicate with your Club, Federation, Combine or National top flyers. Many fanciers from all over the world have scored in this prestigious race and in the 22nd SAMDPR it could be your turn to hit the jackpot but first you have to enter some pigeons. Once again, I am already looking forward to The 22nd South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race.
***SPECIAL THANKS*** must go to my eleven year old grandson Harrison McGrath for assisting with the images in this International Press Release, he just loves getting on my computer and working things out.
Paul Smith, United Kingdom Race Team Co-ordinator/Shipper and International Race Co-ordinator for The 21st South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, which is due to be held at Heron Banks Golf & River Estate and Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel, South Africa, which was due to take place on Saturday 4th February 2017 but unfortunately was postponed because of bad weather to Wednesday 8th February 2017. Regency Lofts Limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England. Tel/Fax:- 01279-812005. (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005), Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email Address:- reglofts@aol.com Regency Lofts Website:- www.regencylofts.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Twitter Address:- PaulSmith@SmithReglofts The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Website:- www.samdpr.com
THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE for the first nominated pigeon clocked in the Final Race went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which won US$6,120 (£5,100) for its efforts. Sorry I can’t mention everybody that clocked pigeons but space does not permit, if anybody wishes to look at the full results they can log onto www.samdpr.com
CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING 1st IRELAND, 106th OPEN went to DONNELLY & KIRKWOOD, with pigeon named ZIMBA bred by KARL DONNELLY, which was officially clocked at 16.18.23.09, 2 hours 22 minutes 13.80 seconds after the race winner, winning US$1,500 (£1,250), Karl had travelled out to South Africa for the race but went home the day before the race finally took place, however sure he will be pleased to know we celebrated for you and the bill is on its way mate by pigeon post. All joking apart mate, WELL DONE. Then 2nd Ireland, 128th Open Philip & Mark Smith with their pigeon named Gaelic Hope, which won US$1,250 (£1,042), 3rd Ireland, 214th Open Moran & Bowden with their pigeon named Beautiful Alannah, which won US$1,000 (£833), 4th Ireland, 419th Open Padraig & Caoimhe with his pigeon named High Hopes, 5th Ireland, 421st Open Johnson & Leonard & Sons with their pigeon named Leonard Lad and 6th Ireland, 462nd Open Joe Kennedy & Son with his pigeon named Joshua. The Irish team got a total of 17 home.
THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE for the first nominated pigeon clocked in the Final Race went to PHILIP & MARK SMITH with their pigeon named GAELIC HOPE bred by PHILIP & MARK SMITH which won US$440 (£367) for its efforts.
GLOBAL NOMINATIONS ON THE FINAL RACE amounted to a staggering US$252,998.25c (£211,000) which included 114 pigeons entered at US$1,000 (£833) per pigeon entry fee with the top prize worth a cool US$85,000 (£70,883) for the Zandy Meyer Memorial Mercedes Car Entry and a grand total of 902 pigeons including 75 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 8 pigeons from Ireland and a total of 4,576 Global Nominations were actually placed. Once again the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM members did really well with MILLYS LOFT taking 11th OPEN with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE, this pigeon won a cool US$11,679 (£9,733), this pigeon also came 2nd in The Zandy Meyer Memorial Mercedes Car Nomination and won a further $11,900 (£9,917) for its efforts. WELL DONE MICHAEL A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT. Then LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT taking 13th OPEN with pigeon named JAMIE that won a cool US$6,596 (£5,497) for its efforts, then taking 74th OPEN was TEAM LINCS with pigeon named EVDEN bred by PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD which also walked away with a cool US$357 (£298), then MANCHESTER MAESTROS taking 94th OPEN with pigeon named LADY LILY 3 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER and this pigeon walked away with just US$17 (£14), then another for MILLYS LOFT taking 71st OPEN with their pigeon named DUNDEE BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR which won US$3,179 (£2,650) for its efforts and then last another for MILLYS LOFT taking 80th OPEN with pigeon named I LOVE MY BOYS once again bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE and winning US$1,445 (£1,204) for its efforts.. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS. IT REALLY HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING RACE SERIES FOR FANCIERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AS THEY HAVE WON MORE THAN THEIR FAIR SHARE OF GLOBAL NOMINATIONS RIGHT THROUGH THE 2016/17 RACE PROGRAMME.
REGIONAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM in the FINAL RACE amounted to US$3,451.85c (£2,877) with 50 pigeons entered with 225 Nominations and there was 4 fanciers sharing to spoils and these were as follows:- MILLYS LOFT took 11th OPEN with their pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which walked away with a cool US$2,295 (£1,913), then another for MILLYS LOFT in 71st OPEN with pigeon named DUNDEES BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which won US$807.50c (£673), then TEAM LINCS took 74th OPEN with pigeon named EVDEN bred by PAUL & STACEY TRACEY from SLEAFORD and this walked away with US$161.50c (£135), then MANCHESTER MAESTROS won 94th OPEN with their pigeon named LADY LILLY 3 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER and this pigeon won US$119 (£99)) and lastly another for TEAM LINCS in 181st OPEN with pigeon named STAMFORD bred by PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD which won US$68.85c (£57) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO THESE WINNERS.
THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 22 official races in the 2016/17 race series finished as follows:- 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN and US$10,000 (£8,334) went to MILLYS LOFT from UNITED KINGDOM with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 49.26.09.75 to cover the 22 races that counted, winning this category by 2 hours 2.58 seconds, 1st GERMANY, 2nd OPEN and US$5,000 (£4,167) went to REINHARD GEBHARDT from GERMANY with pigeon named AMAZING DAY bred by REINHARD GEBHARDT that took 50.21.16.89 to cover the 22 races that counted and then 1st SOUTH AFRICA, 3rd OPEN and US$2,500 (£2,083) went to THE PLATINUM LADYS from SOUTH AFRICA with pigeon named DALEEN bred by TRIPLE J LOFTS that took 50.37.33.39 to cover the 22 races that counted. It was amazing to see the pigeons that would have taken 2nd and 7th in this category, both were Defaulter Pigeons.
1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 49.26.09.75 to cover the 22 races that counted. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 18th OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BOY bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE with a total flying time of 53.48.07.49 over the 22 races that counted. 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 34th OPEN went to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM with pigeon named ZANDYS STAR bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with a total flying time of 55.48.45.45 for the 22 races that counted.
1st IRELAND, 266th OPEN went to JOHN BYRNE & SON with their pigeon named SADHBH bred by this partnership with a total flying time of 78.23.05.80 in the 22 races that counted.
The 2-BIRD AVERAGE IN THE FINAL RACE carried a US$2,000 (£1,667) cash prize and that was won by MILLYS LOFT from the UNITED KINGDOM with pigeons named DUNDEES BACK and I LOVE MY BOYS with a total velocity of 33.039 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN was MILLYS LOFTS with pigeons named DUNDEES BACK and I LOVE MY BOYS with a total velocity of 33.039 m/s. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 21st OPEN was TIM ATKIN from RUGBY with pigeons named DRINKY and RANIERE ROCKET with a total velocity of 22.622 m/s. 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 25th OPEN was LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT with pigeons named JAMIE and SHES GOOD with a total velocity of 21.881 m/s. The UK had 12 teams in the top 82 in this category. 1st IRELAND, 97th OPEN was MORAN & BOWDEN with pigeons named BEAUTIFUL ALANNAH and FIGHTING ELLEN with a total velocity of 16.146.
The 3-BIRD AVERAGE IN THE FINAL RACE carried a US$3,000 (£2,500) cash prize and was won by STANLEY MEYLER from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeons named WEXFORD 18, WEXFORD 16 and WEXFORD 17 all bred by STANLEY MEYLER with a total velocity of 38.746 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 13th OPEN was SPEEDBIRD STRAIN - AYLESBURY BUCKS with pigeons named DEMOLITION LADY, AYLESBURY JEWEL and SHOCK-WAVE all bred by the late PETER ENTWISTLE from AYLESBURY with a total velocity of 24.480 m/s. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 15th OPEN was ORBITAL LOFTS with 3 pigeons all bred by ROGER LOWE from READING, 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 17th OPEN was LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with 3 pigeons bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH, 4th UNITED KINGDOM, 21st OPEN was PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH and with 3 pigeons bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from Laindon. There were no teams of 3 pigeons left for the IRELAND team. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS CONCERNED, YOUR PIGEONS SURE DID YOU PROUD.
THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION and a US$25,000 (£20,833) FIRST PRIZE and started off with 2,750 entries and the winner of this prestigious competition was TOM SCHILLING from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with their pigeon named LITTLE MISS NIKKI bred TOM SCHILLING that actually won 1st OPEN in THE FINAL RACE. The first UNITED KINGDOM pigeon was actually 2nd to the American pigeon and was clocked in 11th Open and belonged to MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK and bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE. There were no Irish pigeon left in this competition. The original entry was 2,750 pigeons from 35 different countries and this figure included 236 from the United Kingdom and 37 from Ireland. There are 5 rounds including the FINAL RACE, so to win this competition takes a pigeon of some class. Only 69 entries were still left in this competition and only 24 were officially clocked. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WORTHY WINNER.
It was once again great to meet up and talk to such renowned fanciers as Stephen & Rhona Kearsey (Australia), Frank & Robin McLaughlin and two children (United States Of America), Willi van Beers, Alfons Klaas, Hardy Kruger, Paul-Hans Esser, Karl Heinz Wagner, Werner Waldow, Klaus Stieneker, Josef Bekker, Nadine Huenten and Hans Bruhl (Germany), Thomas Gyselbrecht (Pipa), Frank Daelemans, Michel Wouters, Philippe Brantegem, Norbert De Schrijver, Stan Van Beemen (Belgium), Henk Jurriens, Gerard Koopman, Kfelt Spithoven, Jan Hooymans and his son, Nicole De Weerd and Guy Van Der Auwera (Netherlands), Corrie Naude, Andre van Wyk, Martin Beneke, Alan Jordaan, Joe Gomes, Butch Einkamerer, Saville Penkin, Mark Kitchenbrand, Billy Kitchenbrand, Gaddin Brothers, Jurie & Daleen Erwee, Johann Grobbelaar, Roger Harris, Dave Gilbert, Herman van Rensberg, Gary Fang, Rob Conradie and Petra Stiglingh (South Africa), Jos Reilly, Gerry McCourt & Karl Donnelly (Ireland), Ali Barrak Al-Azemi and Bader Al-Jewesry from Kuwait, Mike & Debbie Ganus and Andy Skwiat and his mum Stephine from United States Of America, also a big group of Americans whose names I never got, Ian and Karen Brenner and their other friends from Australia, plus of course Lee Fribbins, Carly Huggins, John & Steve Best, John Crehan and family, Pieter Oberholster, Tadt Truszkowski from United Kingdom plus Paul Stokes all from the United Kingdom who has recently moved out to South Africa. Plus over the race weekend I also talked to many other top International and South African fanciers.
As the International Race Co-ordinator for the 21st year Paul Smith would like to personally thank all the Country Race Shippers/Co-ordinators, Frank Nebig from Animals To Fly, Martin Beneke the Auctioneer, All the Loft Lads, Keith McLintock & Btrett Lindsay from Big Brave Digital the Livestream Team, Peter Furstenberg from Shine Interactive, Ben (The Blog) Williams) and all the staff who work for the SAMDPR, all the backroom staff who we do not see and in fact anybody that has something to do for the SAMDPR a really BIG THANK YOU for all your help and assistance during the past year as without your help and support the race could not continue. I would also like to personally thank Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport Internationale, The Presenters of this Race) for her continued great support and taking this great race forward into the future. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY YOU ALL DO A STERLING JOB.
***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.
***WHAT COULD BE WON DURING THIS 2016/17 RACE SERIES*** Prizes and awards now added up to a staggering US$2.2 Million American Dollars £1.83 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars with a US$16,000 (£13,334) value, there is 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, International Country Challenge Cash Prizes on the Car Race Hot Spot 1 to 5, plus a Country Challenge Award for the first entered pigeon clocked in the Final Race. A Two Bird Average Competition and a US$2,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. A Three Bird Average Competition and a US$3,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race. 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 the 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 50 pigeons still left in this competition). Then in the “FINAL RACE” on the 8th February 2017 there was also 10 magnificent gold pendants to be won worth well over US$1,000 (£833) each and now over US$1 Million American Dollars (£833,000) in Prize Money and 300 top cash prizes being on offer.
THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES CAR NOMINATION which has a US$1,000 (approx. £833) ENTRY FEE NOMINATION PER PIGEON also took place on the “FINAL RACE” and the winner of A BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$85,000 (approx. £70,883). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). This treasured award this year was won by TOM SCHILLING, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named LITTLE MISS NIKKI bred by TOM SCHILLING that actually won 1st OPEN and he walked away with this coveted CASH PRIZE of US$86,000 (£71,667). This new competition is only in its fourth year and this year had 114 entries and there was also a second prize of US$11,900 (£9,917) which went to the pigeon that took 11th OPEN for MILLYS LOFT from UNITED KINGDOM with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE. WELL DONE TO BOTH THESE GREAT FANCIERS.
***SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS*** I feel it would be very remiss of me if I did not mention the outstanding performance in the Final Race of MILLYS LOFT, who is MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE, UNITED KINGDOM. He had an fantastic Final Race with 4 pigeons in the top 117 pigeons in the OPEN result winning US$12,500 (£10,417) Prize Money, 1st OVERALL ACE PIGEON & US$10,000 (£8,334) the first UK pigeon ever to win this prestigious award. 2nd in THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES CAR NOMINATION and US$11,900 (£9,917). GLOBAL NOMINATIONS which totalled US$16,303 (£13,586) UK REGIONAL NOMINATIONS which totalled US$3,102.50c (£2,585). UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE in the Final Race winning US$6,120 (£5,100). 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN 2-BIRD AVERAGE in the Final Race and US$2,000 (£1,667). Plus his 1st pigeon clocked was the Runner-Up in THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION which carried a US$25,000 (£20,833) First Prize. HIS TOTAL WINNINGS ON THE FINAL RACE CAME TO A STAGGERING US$61,675 (£51,606). His 1st pigeon clocked then sold at auction for ZAR215,000 (£13,438). WHAT A MARVELLOUS RACE AND ONE OF THE BEST UNITED KINGDOM TEAM PERFORMANCES SINCE THE RACE STARTED 21 YEARS AGO. Well done mate you deserve all your success.
THE AUCTIONS of the top winning pigeons usually takes place the day after the race but this year because of the postponing of the race, it was decided to run the auction from Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel and get Martin Beneke (Auctioneer) to do the auction and at the same time allow telephone bidding. The top 50 winning pigeons were placed on the SAMDPR Web Site Home Page and this gave fanciers from all over the world an opportunity to place bids on any of these pigeons. These bids that were placed online would then be the opening bid when Martin opened the actual auction. People in the room and phone bids would be accepted and the highest bidder would purchase the pigeon. Currently there will around 34 auctions in total at different venues all over South Africa and all can be seen by logging onto www.samdpr.com and looking for the Auction Section of the right hand side of the Home Page or hitting the Auction button at the bottom of the Home Page. So far there are 1,530 pigeons to be offered for sale. If you wish to place a “BID” you can do by filling in an “AUCTION REPORT FORM” which is on the SAMDPR Web Site for downloading. Depending if more pigeons arrive home later, then extra pigeons may be added to the auctions already listed, please keep your eyes open to see where your pigeon/s are being sold. As usual the place was filled with fanciers from all over South Africa with many open phone lines which encouraged fanciers from all over the world to place their bids. The pigeons would be auctioned from 1st to 50th positions. The first 25 pigeons auctioned are all listed above in the first 25 OPEN positions, so I will not mention the names again, just give you the selling prices.
***AUCTION SELLING PRICES*** Lot 1 ZAR350,100 approx. (US$25,800)(£21,881)(E25,007), Lot 2 ZAR150,000 approx. (US$11,054)(£9,375)(E10,714), Lot 3 ZAR280,000 approx. (US$20,634) (£17,500) (E20,000), Lot 4 ZAR225,100 approx. (US$16,588) (£14,069) (E16,079), Lot 5 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 6 ZAR55,200 approx. (US$4,068) (£3,450) (E3,943), Lot 7 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 8 ZAR55,100 approx. (US$4,060) (£3,444) (E3,936), Lot 9 ZAR62,500 approx. (US$4,606) (£3,906) (E4,464), Lot 10 ZAR40,100 approx. (US$2,955) (£2,506) (E2,864), Lot 11 ZAR215,000 approx. (US$15,844) (£13,438) (E15,357), Lot 12 ZAR45,000 approx. (US$3,316) (£2,813) (E3,214), Lot 13 ZAR21,600 approx. (US$1,592) (£1,350) (E1,543), Lot 14 ZAR170,000 approx. (US$12,528) (£10,625) (E12,143), Lot 15 ZAR14,100 approx. (US$1,039) (£881) (E1,007), Lot 16 ZAR48,600 approx. (US$3,581) (£3,038) (E3,471), Lot 17 ZAR32,000 approx. (US$2,358) (£2,000) (E2,286), Lot 18 ZAR11,000 approx. (US$811) (£688) (E786), Lot 19 ZAR30,000 approx. (US$2,211) (£1,875) (E2,143), Lot 20 ZAR28,600 approx. (US$2,108) (£1,788) (E2,043), Lot 21 ZAR192,100 approx. (US$14,156) (£12,006) (E13,721), Lot 22 ZAR47,000 approx. (US$3,463) (£2,938) (E3,357), Lot 23 ZAR18,000 approx. (US$1,326) (£1,125) (E1,286), Lot 24 ZAR21,000 approx. (US$1,548) (£1,313) (E1,500), Lot 25 ZAR18,000 approx. (US$1,326) (£1,125) (E1,286).
The next 25 lots all sold between ZAR10,200 and ZAR100,000 each. THIS REALLY WAS AN OUTSTANDING AUCTION TO SAY THE LEAST. The top 50 pigeons fetched a staggering ZAR2,902800, or approximately US$213,913 or £181,000 or E210,000. The average price per pigeon worked out at ZAR58,056 or approximately US$4,278 or £3,620 or E4,200 each. This once again just goes to show the great value that top fanciers from all over the world put on pigeons that compete in the SAMDPR. Of course a BIG THANK YOU goes to MARTIN BENEKE for his auctioneering skills and all the other SAMDPR staff that helped and assisted during the time it took to sell all these 50 top class pigeons.
PRIZE MONEY THAT WAS ALLOCATED TO THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR “FINAL RACE” IS AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$200,000 (approx. £166,667), 2nd US$125,000 (approx. £104,167), 3rd US$75,000 (approx. £62,500), 4th US$50,000 (approx. £41,667), 5th US$35,000 (approx. £29,167), 6th US$20,000 (£16,667), 7th US$17,500 (£14,583), 8th US$15,000 (£12,500), 9th US$12,500 (£10,417), 10th US$10,000 (approx. £8,333), 11th/15th US$7,000 each (approx. £5,833), 16th/20th US$5,000 each (approx. £4,166), 21st/30th US$3,500 each (approx. £2,917), 31st/40th US$3,000 each (approx. £2,500), 41st/50th US$2,500 each (approx. £2,083), 51st/75th US$2,000 each (£1,667), 76th/100th US$1,750 each (£1,458), 101st/125th US$1,500 each (£1,250), 126th/150th US$1,250 each (£1,042), 151st/200th US$1,100 each (£917), 201st/250th US$1,000 (£833) and then 251st/300th US$500 each (approx. £417). (Subject to terms and conditions of entry). The actual cash prizes stated above represent exchange rates at the current time (approx. 1.20 to £) and may of course change at the time of each race depending what the currency exchange rate is on the actual race day.
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.star-pigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theloftreport.com www.hitchcock-pigeons.com www.pigeoncrazy.com www.oneloftracing.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 & enjoy.
The race date for THE 22nd SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed and this will once again take place in Heron Banks Golf & River Estate, Vaal River and the Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel, South Africa on Saturday 3rd February 2018.
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 22nd SAMDPR will be MONDAY 8th MAY 2017 so your pigeons will need to be with me by 14.00 on MONDAY 8th MAY 2017 and then the second one will be BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 29th MAY 2017, so your pigeons will need to be with me by 14.00 on MONDAY 29th MAY 2017. Please let me know ASAP how many pigeons you wish to enter into The 22nd SAMDPR and which shipment you would like them to go out on. Your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
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.
Once again the “HITS” on the SAMDPR Web Site have been remarkable to say the least and as soon as I get confirmed figures I will report them in a later International Press Release for all to see. In past years they have exceeded 80 million “HITS”. So this year I expect a figure in excess of 100 million “HITS” during the year.
If you wish to see photographs of things that happened during the 2016/17 race season, then please log onto www.samdpr.com and you can see a selection of photographs for all to see.
Many great statements over the years have been given by actual race winners but the one that stands out for me is what a past winner FILIP NORMAN from BELGIUM said “That winning the Million Dollar Pigeon Race was better than winning two Barcelona Nationals”. This just goes to show how important the SAMDPR is to the race winner.
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.
If you are interested in entering pigeons into the 22nd SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE and would like me to forward you information on how you can do it, then please contact me immediately on my home telephone number 01279-812005, mobile number 07860-568216, SMS message to mobile number or by email at reglofts@aol.com I will be only too pleased to forward you information about the race and how you can enter it.
It would be remiss of me not to personally thank the Gary Lance the owner of Heron Banks Golf & River Estate and the Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel and all the staff for the use of this fantastic venue, everything was outstanding to say the least and I know that everybody that visited the race this year really enjoyed this great place where everybody made you feel so welcome.
One thing is still for sure The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race is still the best and biggest one loft pigeon race in the world today and is the one that top fanciers all over the world want to do well in. It is run by a team of professionals and has paid out every dollar of its projected prize money every year for the past 21 years. One thing is for sure with this great race, that if you are lucky enough to get a top position in the Final Race, your pigeon or pigeons are really well rewarded. So why not enter some of your top class pigeons into the 22nd SAMDPR or try to form a syndicate with your Club, Federation, Combine or National top flyers. Many fanciers from all over the world have scored in this prestigious race and in the 22nd SAMDPR it could be your turn to hit the jackpot but first you have to enter some pigeons. Once again, I am already looking forward to The 22nd South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race.
***SPECIAL THANKS*** must go to my eleven year old grandson Harrison McGrath for assisting with the images in this International Press Release, he just loves getting on my computer and working things out.
Paul Smith, United Kingdom Race Team Co-ordinator/Shipper and International Race Co-ordinator for The 21st South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, which is due to be held at Heron Banks Golf & River Estate and Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel, South Africa, which was due to take place on Saturday 4th February 2017 but unfortunately was postponed because of bad weather to Wednesday 8th February 2017. Regency Lofts Limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England. Tel/Fax:- 01279-812005. (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005), Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email Address:- reglofts@aol.com Regency Lofts Website:- www.regencylofts.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Twitter Address:- PaulSmith@SmithReglofts The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Website:- www.samdpr.com