Big bucks go galloping

31 August 2015 - 10:15 By Mike Moon

Ordinary people like us can't get our heads around big numbers. They're like quantum theory, string theory or mauling theory in rugby - challenging. When trillions of dollars were wiped out as world markets took a tumble this week, most of us glazed over. The immensity was too much. Who's ever counted to a trillion? What is a trillion?I googled and discovered a trillion is a thousand billion. After that you get a quadrillion, which is a thousand trillion; then quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion and decillion. Even maths nerds haven't counted much higher than that and gazillion and squillion are just made-up words to impress people with the super-colossal enormity of stuff.Anyway, the point is that $10-trillion has disappeared from the world in short order thanks to spooked markets. Not just misplaced, or slipped down the back of the sofa. Gone.What happens now?We carry on much as before. Beer might get pricier. But otherwise we're cool; the impact of lost trillions will be spread across billions of people around the world, with rich ones taking most of the pain.Don't mention this to South African politicians. They're messing up our economy in a whole different way, unrelated to wonky stock exchanges, and the last thing we need is for them to think they don't have to worry.A joke selected among the 10 best at this year's Edinburgh Festival seems apt for the comrades running our government economics and trade departments: "If you don't know what introspection is, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself."That advice is courtesy of a guy called Ian Smith, so I guess they won't listen.Imagine my surprise, watching trillions evaporate, to learn that stakes for some of our big horse races are being significantly pumped up.There's life yet in this old dog of a game.The prize money for the President's Champions Challenge, run at Turffontein in April, has doubled to R4-million, making it the richest horse race in the country (not counting sales-subscription races for young horses).The Durban July people will doubtless be on the blower to sponsor Vodacom to up its contribution to the R3.5-million purse for the country's most famous race.Also, Turffontein's popular Charity Mile will be boosted from R400,000 to R1-million. That race has a sponsor in Peermont Emperors Palace, but the Champs Challenge doesn't - thus far - and the underwriting is courtesy of operator Phumelela and owners' body the Racing Association.A new sponsor to racing is SAP. No, not the fuzz from the bad old days, but the business enterprise IT behemoth out of Silicon Valley.SAP was co-founded by German Hasso Plattner, who owns Fancourt golf estate on the Garden Route and is husband to Sabine Plattner, a racehorse owner of note in this country.Getting such a glittering company on board is remarkable, so it's a little surprising that the race being supported is a Grade 2 affair run on the Vaal sand track. This was formerly the Emerald Cup and it might disappear entirely next year when the sand surface at the rural venue is replaced by turf.Perhaps SAP wants to get a feel for the game. It has sponsored Ernie Els for quite a few years so should know about the ups and downs of sport. Hopefully its folk will take to the computational, algorithmic aspects of racing. And the galloping.You see, it's got trillions in the bank...

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