Page 1 of 1

Gerard McCourt- FIRST INTERNATIONAL PRESS REPORT

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:35 pm
by flyer
“FIRST INTERNATIONAL PRESS REPORT”
THE 18th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR
(THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD)
(THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD)
DUE TO BE HELD IN LINBRO PARK, SANDTON,
SOUTH AFRICA ON SATURDAY 25th JANUARY 2014.



CAR RACE HOT SPOT 3 & TRAINING RACES 11 & 12.

I feel I must start this International Press Release with the sad new that broke earlier today as I started to prepare this report and that was Nelson Mandela, Past President of South Africa had passed away on the evening of Thursday 5th December at the age of 95. Of course he was an inspiration to many people in South Africa and many others literally all over the world and he will be sadly missed.

LIVESTREAM was available once again for this race and will be used for every race from now on. This means that you can log on to the official web site:- http://www.samdpr.com and watch the pigeons arriving at the lofts as they fall out of the sky. It is fantastic to be able to look at the pigeons homing live, sitting nearly 6,000 miles away from the lofts. I logged on early and watched the winning pigeons arrive home at 07-02 GMT (09.02 SA time). A gang of about 30 pigeons arrived first, quickly followed by two more similar size groups and then the pigeons literally just fell out of the sky. The weather at the loft site looked a bit overcast with a nice steady wind but these top class pigeons seemed to manage the task that had been put in front of them. This really is new modern technology at its best.

CAR RACE HOT SPOT 3 took place on Saturday 7th December 2013 from 224km (139 miles) and yet another world record breaking 4,092 pigeons were basketed from 40 different countries, this staggering total was made up by 286 South African pigeons and 3,806 International pigeons and this included 315 from the United Kingdom and 57 from Ireland. The convoy were liberated at 05.45 in fine and clear conditions, a few clouds and a light head wind, temperature of 16c (61f) and a good steady tough race was anticipated.

It should probably be mentioned that in the same race last year a total of 3,338 pigeons were sent, so this means that an extra 754 more pigeons made it to this CAR HOT SPOT RACE this year than the same race during last year. Surely this just goes to prove that by being careful with the pigeons in the early training tosses pays dividends in the end. The Loft Managers and Staff have done a magnificent job during these early tosses in very poor weather conditions.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN goes to LENKA MACHARA from SLOVAKIA with pigeon named MATUS, which was officially clocked at 09.02.33.69 to record a winning velocity of 1242ypm (42mph), performances to date were 1456th, 974th, 4097th, 2783rd, 2275th, 1849th, 1772nd, 827th, 2041st, 1213rd and now 1st OPEN, 2nd Al-Abraq Loft from Kuwait, 3rd Greg Glazier from United States Of America, 4th Team Germany – Christoph Groene from Germany, 5th Lanoak Lone Rangers from United Kingdom, 6th Team Hooymans from Netherlands, 7th Etienne Devos from Belgium, 8th Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from Netherlands, 9th Hans and Evert-Jan Eijerkamp from Netherlands, 10th Ken Darlington from United Kingdom, 11th Roan and Haack from United States Of America, 12th Team Hooymans from Netherlands, 13th Stanescu and Dobre from Romania, 14th Madison Loft from United States Of America, 15th Scott McAllister from United States Of America, 16th Juergen Stefaniszyn from Germany, 17th Mishal Ead from Kuwait, 18th Injazz Loft from Qatar, 19th Americas Dream Loft from United States Of America and 20th Ken Christopher from United States Of America. The top twenty in this result were separated by just 53.60 seconds and had 9 different countries represented, however it should be mentioned that the first seven positions were all taken by pigeons representing different countries. This race resulted in 3,855 pigeons being officially recorded by 18.52, leaving 237 pigeons to make it back to the lofts by nightfall. Sunday morning the pigeons started to roll in and by 16.45 a total of 3,940 had returned which meant that just 152 (3.71%) pigeons were still missing. The Monday morning loft list showed 4,007 pigeons in the lofts, which meant that only 85 (2.077%) had failed to return.

***THE BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR*** went to the pigeon that won 2nd OPEN for AL-ABRAQ LOFT from KUWAIT with his pigeon named AL MANSOURI THREE , which had previously won 597th, 61st, 142nd, 1009th, 161st, 3439th, 84th, 2305th, 1049th, 194th and now 2nd OPEN in its first eleven races. The pigeon that won 1st OPEN for the Slovakian fancier was NOT-ACTIVATED so could not win this fabulous prize.

***THE NINETEEN US$1,000 (£645) HOT SPOT CASH PRIZES*** were won by pigeons that took 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st & 22nd OPEN. In this race there was only one pigeon NOT ACTIVATED, which resulted in the owners of 14th OPEN an American fancier not winning a US$1,000 cash prize. SURELY, IF A PIGEON IS WORTH ENTERING INTO THE RACE AT THE START, THEN IT MUST BE WORTH ACTIVATING ONCE THEY GET TO THE CAR RACE HOT SPOTS? Still the fancier that won a bonus US$1,000 cash prize are now all highly delighted, meaning that this pigeon has now already paid for itself. It should be noted that the CAR WINNER does not receive a US$1,000 Cash Prize. For the full results see Results & Listings on SAMDPR Web Site http://www.samdpr.com

***THE TWO BIRD AVERAGE & US$2,000 (£1,290) CASH PRIZE*** 1st PRIZE was won by KOOPMAN RACING TEAM, TEAM S from NETHERLANDS with his two pigeons named OTIS and MORE THAN READY which took 68th and 74th OPEN. The best UNITED KINGDOM team took 20th OPEN for CRAMMOND and LANGSTAFF, TEAM B from FONTWELL and with two pigeons named FONTWELL LUCKY BEGGAR and FONTWELL FINESSE which took 36th and 586th OPEN. The best IRISH team took 12th OPEN for JOS REILLY – TEAM IRELAND, TEAM A with two pigeons named JOS 1 and JOS 2 which took 67th and 321st OPEN, both pigeons were bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN.

***THE THREE BIRD AVERAGE & US$3,000 (£1,935) CASH PRIZE*** 1st PRIZE was also won by KOOPMAN RACING TEAM, TEAM S from NETHERLANDS with his three pigeons named OTIS, MORE THAN READY and ABUNDANCE which took 68th, 74th and 369TH OPEN. The best UNITED KINGDOM team took 11th OPEN for LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, TEAM I, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with three pigeons named LUCKY PEARL, LUCKY HOPE and LUCKY VENTURE which took 185th, 543rd and 1191st OPEN and all being bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH. The best IRISH team took 23rd OPEN for BOB DALY, TEAM A and with three pigeons named WIZZO JNR, JAIL BIRD and BELCAMP 60 which took 487th, 804 and 1818th.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 5th OPEN went to LANOAK LONE RANGERS with pigeon named LANOAK DIRK which was bred by KEVIN FOSTER from LONGFIELD HILL and which was officially clocked at 09.02.58.54 just 24.85 seconds behind the actual race winner, this pigeon had already won 4115th, 312th, 3591st, 1609th, 812th, 3202nd, 2117th, 3184th, 3227th, 114th and now 5th OPEN, this pigeons sire was a double g-son of Kannibal and the dam was bred by Ronnie Williamson from a daughter of one of his NIPA winners, 2nd UK, 10th Open Ken Darlington from Barry, 3rd UK, 36th Open Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell, 4th UK, 39th Open Dave, Paul & Judy McCarthy from Wallasey, 5th UK, 41st Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 6th UK, 47th Open Keeping Up With The Jones NFC Nom and with a pigeon bred by Robbie Jones from Southampton, 7th UK, 93rd Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, 8th UK, 95th Open Reach Then Join with pigeon bred by Peter Keogh from Broxburn, 9th UK, 101st Open Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven, 10th UK, 104th Open Alistair Hogg from Winchburgh, 11th UK, 129th Open Eamon Kelly from Abingdon, 12th UK, 185th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with another pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 13th UK, 193rd Open Planet Brothers from Noak Hill, 14th UK, 216th Open Tadt Syndicate with pigeon bred by Tadt Truszkowski from Rotherby, 15th UK, 254th Open another for Syndicate Lofts UK and with another bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, 16th UK, 278th Open Guys Lofts with a pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 17th UK, 305th Open Emilia Loft UK with pigeon bred by Sebastian Suski from Southampton, 18th UK, 308th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate with another bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 19th UK, 309th Open The Farriers with pigeon bred by Brian Greenley from Malton and 20th UK, 311th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate with yet another pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, which was the fourth in this race result. This race resulted in 298 pigeons being officially clocked by 18.52, leaving 17 UK pigeons still to make it back to base camp. Another 7 UK pigeons were recorded on Sunday up to 16.45 making a total of 305, which meant just 10 (3.17%) were still missing. The Monday morning loft list showed 309 UK pigeons in the lofts, making just 6 (1.904%) were still missing.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 67th OPEN went to JOS REILLY – TEAM IRELAND with pigeon named JOS 1 which was officially clocked at 09.05.12.55, just 2 minute and 38.86 seconds behind the actual race winner, this winning pigeon has won 897th, 4062nd, 1793rd, 4370th, 4232nd, 1913th, 2127th, 482nd, 11th, 1969th and now 67th OPEN, this is the second time this pigeon has won 1st IRELAND as it did this in TR9, then 2nd Ireland, 84th Open Brammer and Nasher, 3rd Ireland, 321st Open another for Jos Reilly – Team Ireland, 4th Ireland, 326th Open Bernard Smyth – Gordon Brothers, 5th Ireland, 487th Open Bob Daly and 6th Ireland, 609th Open Safet Duran. This race resulted in 53 Irish pigeons being officially clocked by 18.52, leaving 4 still to return to the lofts by darkness. Then up to 16.45 on Sunday a further 2 Irish pigeons had homed making the total of 55 in the lofts, leaving just 2 (3.51%) were still missing. The Monday morning loft list still showed 55 Irish pigeons in the lofts.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS totalled US$20,071.05c (£13,381) and had a total of 492 pigeons entered, with 1,756 Nominations, which included 41 pigeons from the UNITED KINGDOM and 3 pigeons from IRELAND. There was only one UK winner and that was EAMON KELLY from ABINGDON with his pigeon named JAMIE RAY that took 129th OPEN and won US$136 (£90.67p) for its efforts, this pigeon has already won quite a lot of pool money in this race series. WELL DONE EAMON. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS in the UNITED KINGDOM had 14 pigeons entered and 33 nominations which totalled US$135.15c (£90.10p) and three fanciers shared this money, EMILIA LOFT UK with pigeon named PRINCESS EMILIA and bred by SEBASTIAN SUSKI from SOUTHAMPTON took 305th OPEN and won US$11.90c (£7.93p), SYNDICATES BEACON UK with pigeon named MEABURN FANTASTIC and bred by IAN PARSONS from PENRITH took 562nd OPEN and won US$119 (£79.34p) and then AMBLERS OF OXENHOPE with pigeon named DANEDREAM bred by KEN AMBLER from OXENHOPE took 662nd OPEN and won just US$4.25c (£2.84p) . WELL DONE TO ALL.

CASCADE CHALLENGE for CAR RACE HOT SPOT 3 there was a total of US$9,916.50c (approx. £6,611) and a grand total of 372 pigeons were entered which included 24 from the United Kingdom and just 2 from Ireland. The nearest pigeon to winning the POT OF GOLD took 25th OPEN for THORSTEN + FINN LEON DAUM from GERMANY with pigeon named BELISAR, just 1 minute 05.65 seconds away from winning 1st OPEN. The nearest UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 129th OPEN for EAMON KELLY from ABINGDON with his consistent pigeon named JAMIE RAY. The best IRISH pigeon took 3787th OPEN for LYONS and BLACKMORE with their pigeon named JACK THE LAD. This total of US$9,916.50c (£6,611) will now rollover to TRAINING RACE 11.

THE OVERALL GRAND AVERAGES after 11 races are as follows:- 1st KOOPMAN RACING TEAM from NETHERLANDS with their pigeon named OTIS with a combined flying time of 15.04.51.20, leading by just 2 minutes 25 seconds after taking 1058th, 136th, 758th, 1669th, 150th, 375th, 956th, 15th, 693rd, 1705th and now 68th OPEN in the first eleven races, a very consistent pigeon. 2nd Open is Al-Abraq Loft from Kuwait with pigeon named Khalaf. The truly amazing fact is that there are a total of 11 different countries represented in the top 20 in this category.

UNITED KINGDOM OVERALL AVERAGES after 11 races are as follows:- 1st UK, 18th OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named LUCKY STAR both bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with a combined flying times of 15.40.14.01 leading this category by over 38 minutes with performances of 1260th, 289th, 1280th, 963rd, 1061st, 114th, 57th, 304th, 3364th, 2181st and now 308th OPEN in the first eleven races, Bob’s team of pigeons that he entered into this race are certainly holding their own in the first eight races, 2nd UK, 52nd Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate and named Lucky Vision, then 3rd UK, 115th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Stansted Beauty bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon. There were 9 UK pigeons in the top 199 in the Open in this category. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED. IRISH OVERALL AVERAGES after 11 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 385th OPEN BILLY WALLACE with his pigeon named MAUREEN with a combined flying time of 18.48.07.68 after taking 1407th, 2087th, 325th, 1686th, 3367th, 1129th, 1006th, 1598th, 235th, 1183rd and now 2041st OPEN in the first eleven races. The next Irish pigeon holds 481st Open. WELL DONE GUYS.

***THE CAR RACE HOT SPOT AVERAGES*** after three races stand as follows:- 1st OPEN ABDULWAHAB ALI ALDAHOUM from KUWAIT with his pigeon named ALDAHOUM LOFT SELECTION with a combined flying time of 07.51.56.04 with 21st, 166th and 109th in the three CAR RACE HOT SPOT races held so far. The best UNITED KINGDOM pigeon holds 7th OPEN for LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with a pigeon bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with pigeon named LUCKY STAR with a combined flying time of 08.04.08.15 with performances of 114th, 304th and 308th in these 3 races held so far. The best IRISH pigeon holds 226th OPEN for BOYLAN LOFTS IRELAND with their pigeon named GLEN and with a combined flying time of 09.17.12.28 after winning 221st, 1932nd and 1634th in these 3 races held so far.

***THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION ROUND 2*** which carries a FIRST PRIZE of US$25,000 (£16,667) and is only open for pigeons that were fully paid for (ACTIVATED) prior to the Car Race Hot Spot 1. This fantastic competition attracted a record breaking total of 3,611 pigeons, which was made up by 214 South African pigeons, 3,397 International pigeons and this included 320 from the UNITED KINGDOM and 53 from IRELAND. The entry for this great competition in the 17th SAMDPR was 3,026 pigeons. The rules are as follows:- This competition will take place over the last four Car Race Hot Spot races and the Final Race. Only pigeons entered (ACTIVATED) prior to and basketed for the 1st Car Race Hot Spot will be eligible. Should any Car Race Hot Spot be cancelled one of the Training Races prior to the SAMDPR will be used to calculate the next round’s pigeons. Knocked Out pigeons still compete in all other competitions. KNOCKOUT ROUND 1 was held on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 2 and the first 65% (2,348) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next round. This race resulted in 141 South African pigeons, 2,207 International pigeons, which included 215 UNITED KINGDOM and 35 IRISH pigeons going through to KNOCKOUT ROUND 2 will be held on CAR RACE HOT SPOT 3 and the first 55% (1,293) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next race. This race resulted in 81 South African pigeons, 1,212 International pigeons, which included 119 UNITED KINGDOM and 19 IRISH pigeons. KNOCKOUT ROUND 3 will be held on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and the first 35% (453) of the entered pigeons returning from this race will move forward to the next race. KNOCKOUT ROUND 4 will be held on CAR RACE HOT SPOT 5 and the first 20% (91) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next race. KNOCKOUT FINAL ROUND 5 will be held on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR FINAL RACE on SATURDAY 25th JANUARY 2014 and the first remaining KNOCKOUT PIGEON clocked on the result will win the coveted US$25,000 (£16,667) FIRST PRIZE. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

TRAINING RACE 11 was supposed to take place on Wednesday 11th December 2013 from 78km (48miles) but because of heavy rain forecast it was decided to hold the race on Thursday 12th December and another world record breaking total for this race of 4,027 pigeons from 40 different countries were basketed and this included 282 South African pigeons and 3,745 International pigeons and this figure included 311 from the United Kingdom and 55 from Ireland. A total of 3,294 pigeons were sent to this same race last year, so this year showed a massive increase of 733 more entries.

The convoy were liberated at 08.20 into little to no wind, fine and clear conditions and a temperature of 17c (63f) and a fairly steady race was anticipated.

I logged on to LIVESTREAM at around 07.00 GMT (09.00 SA TIME) and weather looked fine with very little wind, I expected the pigeons to arrive around 09.15 and after a few latecomers from earlier tosses had returned to the lofts a massive gang swung round the lofts, followed by another, then another and within a minute there were literally hundreds of pigeons on the top of the lofts. Within five minutes there were probably over 1,000 pigeons sitting outside and as usual in these short races, those that trap first win the glory. I am sure as the pigeons get further up the road, the trapping will improve as they will have been flying longer and will want to trap for food and water.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN goes to KEANU LOUIS SYNDICATE from GERMANY with pigeon named KEANU, which was officially clocked at 09.17.30.80 to record a velocity of 1482ypm (50mph), performances to date are 4293rd, 653rd, 4651st, 2617th, 4034th, 3229th, 167th, 814th, 403rd, 1436th, 1467th and now 1st OPEN, then 2nd Pripko – Svamy from Slovakia, 3rd Club Edenvale Racing Pigeon Club from South Africa, 4th Helmut u Alfons Klaas from Germany, 5th Fayez 8 from Kuwait, 6th Team America from United States Of America, 7th Pieter Oberholster from United Kingdom, 8th Roan and Hack from United States Of America, 9th Marengo Creek Farms from United States Of America, 10th Edgar Peter from Germany, 11th Stanley Staemmeryd from Sweden, 12th Jian Zhang from South Africa, 13th The Farrier from United Kingdom, 14th another for Helmut u Alfons Klaas, 15th Ken Easley – Silvercreek from United States Of America, 16th Ahsan Khan from United States Of America, 17th Saville Penkin from South Africa, 18th Team Waldeck from Germany, 19th Christian Mikkelsen from Denmark and 20th Ruediger Schoenau from Germany. The top twenty were separated by just 10.25 seconds and there were 8 different countries represented in this result and 6 different countries were clocked in the first 7 positions. A total of 3,900 pigeons were officially clocked up to 16.34, leaving 127 still to return to the lofts. The Friday morning loft list showed 4,023 pigeons in the lofts meaning that just 4 were still missing.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 7th OPEN went to PIETER OBERHOLSTER from KEYSOE with his pigeon named OBI CLEMEN, which was officially clocked at 09.17.34.30 just 03.50 seconds away from the actual race winner, performances so far were 247th, 3311th, 649th, 3904th, 3771st, 1009th, 3562nd, 875th, 2413rd, 144th, 1605th and now 7th OPEN, then 2nd UK, 13th Open The Farrier with pigeon bred by Brian Greenley from Swinton, 3rd UK, 28th Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, 4th UK, 34th Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin, 5th UK, 42nd Open Toms Terriers and with pigeon bred by Tom Berry from Silsden, 6th UK, 58th Open Lucky Devils Sydicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 7th UK, 60th Open Woodhouse Lofts and with pigeon bred by Nev Proctor from Brown Edge, 8th UK, 61st Open Royal Lofts (Her Majesty The Queen) with pigeon bred by The Royal Loft Manager Peter Farrow from Wolverton, 9th UK, 67th Open Harbro Rowdies and with pigeon bred by Barry Lovell, 10th UK, 85th Open Mr & Mrs Paul Titcomb NFC NOM Cholet from Portishead, 11th UK, 87th Open Finghall Lofts with pigeon bred by Keith Thompson from Doncaster, 12th UK, 104th Open Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 13th UK, 107th Open Franks Dream Team, entered by the late Frank Brammer from Hempsted and with a pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon,
14th UK, 120th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 15th UK, 121st Open Station Masters, 16th UK, 133rd Open Crammond and Langstaff from Fontwell, 17th UK, 141st Open Smith – McAllister Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a pigeon bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, 18th UK, 150th Open Aylesbury Speed Birds with pigeon bred by Peter Entwistle from Aylesbury, 19th UK, 171st Open another for Lucky Devils Syndicate with another pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough and 20th UK, 181st Open Ultimate Collection with a pigeon bred by Mark & Dickie Evans (Myrtle Lofts) from Whitley Bridge. A total of 304 pigeons from the United Kingdom were officially recorded on the day by 16.34, leaving 7 still to make it back to base camp. The Friday morning loft list showed that 312 UK pigeons were in the lofts, leaving none to return.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 128th OPEN went to MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named JOSSES BOY and which was officially clocked at 09.18.39.45, just 1 minute 08.65 seconds behind the actual race winner, this pigeon had previously won N/C, N/C, 2023rd, 4819th, 2668th, 3517th, 3884th, N/C, N/C, 3833rd, 2766th and now 128th OPEN, then 2nd Ireland, 405th Open another for Maurice O’Donnell, apparently these first two pigeons in this race were nestmates and bred from Joss Goosens pigeons, 3rd Ireland, 516th Open Pat Maher, 4th Ireland, 524th Open Philip + Mark Smith, 5th Ireland, 636th Open Billy Wallace and 6th Ireland, 658th Open MM Byrne. A total of 51 Irish pigeons were officially clocked by 16.34, leaving just 4 to make it back to the lofts on the day. The Friday morning loft list showed 57 Irish pigeons in the lofts, leaving none to return.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS totalled US$6,755.80c (£4,504) and there was a total of 249 pigeons entered and this number contained 14 from the United Kingdom and none from Ireland. There were a total of 733 nominations in this race and there was just one UK winner in this race and that was 13th OPEN for THE FARRIER with pigeon named FARRIER’S GOLD which was bred by BRIAN GREENLEY from SWINTON and he picked up US$85 (£56.67p) for his efforts. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS only totalled US$34 (£22.66p) and 5 UK pigeons were entered with just 12 nominations and taking 372nd OPEN was EMILIA LOFT UK with pigeon named PRINCESS IZABELLA and bred by SEBASTIAN SUSKI from SOUTHAMPTON and winning just US$4.25c (£2.83p), then 1255th Open was SYNDICATES BEACON bred by IAN PARSONS from PENRITH winning US$29.75c (£19.83p).

CASCADE CHALLENGE had a total of 314 entries, which included 14 from the United Kingdom and 2 from Ireland and a total of US$12,585.50c (£8,390) was up for grabs in today’s race but one again this great cash prize was not won and the nearest pigeon to winning the POT OF GOLD took 10th OPEN for EDGAR PETER from GERMANY with his pigeon named FORCHHELM and missing out by just 04.34 seconds. This POT OF GOLD will now rollover to TRAINING RACE 12 on Saturday. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THAT DECIDE TO HAVE A LITTLE GAMBLE ON THEIR PIGEON OR PIGEONS. The nearest UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 216th OPEN for GUYS LOFTS with pigeon named TONY’S PEARL which was bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON. The nearest IRISH pigeon took 1544th OPEN for BERNARD SMYTH – GORDON BROTHERS with their pigeon named EMERALD FIGHTER.

THE OVERALL GRAND AVERAGES after 12 races are as follows:- 1st OPEN DAVID MATIS from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with his very consistent pigeon named REVISION with a combined flying time of 16.05.21.13, this pigeon has taken 491st, 1861st, 260th, 364th, 241st, 349th, 23rd, 292nd, 663rd, 1753rd, 706th & now 32nd OPEN in its first twelve races, it currently leading this category by 7 minutes 4 seconds.

UNITED KINGDOM AVERAGES after 12 races are as follows:- 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 14th OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named LUCKY STAR and bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with A combined flying time of 16.46.19.91, this pigeon has taken 1260th, 289th, 1280th, 963rd, 1061st, 114th, 57th, 304th, 3364th, 2181st, 308th and now 839th OPEN in its first twelve races. 2nd UK, 50th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, also bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 3rd UK, 98th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon. There are 9 UK pigeons that are currently in the top 187 in the Open. IRISH AVERAGES after 12 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND, 358th OPEN BILLY WALLACE with pigeon named MAUREEN with a combined flying time of 19.49.42.23, this pigeon has taken 1407th, 2087th, 325th, 1686th, 3367th, 1129th, 1006th, 1598th, 235th, 1183rd, 2401st and now 636th OPEN in its first twelve races.

TRAINING RACE 12 took place on Saturday 14th December 2013 from 114km (71 miles) and another world record entry of 4,023 pigeons from 40 different countries were basketed and this included 284 South African pigeons and 3,739 International pigeons and this figure included 312 from the United Kingdom and 57 from Ireland. This race was cancelled last year because of bad weather but there was around 3,300 pigeons that would of been sent to the same race last year, so this meant that 723 more pigeons were basketed for this race compared with last year’s race.

Today would have been ZANDY MEYER’S (Past Race Director) 70th birthday but who unfortunately died earlier on in the year. So today was a sad day at the lofts for all concerned but as we all know the show has to go on. I just know that Zandy would have delighted to see that at this stage of the 2013/14 race series there were still over 4,000 pigeons taking part in these races. It really has been a tough time weather wise for the loft staff but certain decisions were made early on not to try to push the pigeons and play catch up, this has now resulted in having a great team to continue the race season with as they build up to the 4th Car Race Hot Spot, which is due to be held on Saturday 21st December 2013 from 300km (186 miles).

The convoy were liberated at 08.10 into a moderate head wind, fine and clear conditions, with a few fluffy clouds and a temperature of 19c (68f) and a good race was anticipated.

I logged on to LIVESTREAM at 07.20 GMT (09.20 SA TIME) and the weather looked OK and within a few minutes there were literally hundreds of pigeons landing on the lofts, followed by batch after batch. Many pigeons as usual landed on the lofts and either just sat there or chased other pigeons around the top of the lofts. However, as usual some seemed keener to enter the lofts and these were today’s winners and then I realised that the UNION JACK WAS FLYING HIGH AT THE TOP OF THE LIST and the pigeon that had trapped first over the FINISH LINE was actually one of my syndicate pigeons LUCKY REWARD, which had flown well early on, then made a mistake on CRHS3 but returned a few days later and was then entered in today’s race. This one certainly seemed to want to get into the lofts today and won 1st UK, 1st OPEN, which was a lovely surprise for me on what would have been my great friend Zandy Meyer’s 70th birthday and what a great way to celebrate his life and achievements with a great win, I just know he would have been delighted for me.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN went to the LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE from UNITED KINGDOM with their pigeon named LUCKY REWARD, which was officially clocked at 09.31.27.10 to record 1524ypm (52mph), its performances to date are 2115th, 4893rd, 26th, 3161st, 9th, 3251st, 655th, 1586th, 3243rd, 2664th, N/C, N/S and now 1st OPEN, 2nd Mohammed Marzouq Al-Alwan from Kuwait, 3rd Koopman Racing Team from Netherlands, 4th Gebr Landewe from Netherlands, 5th Willy Kumpmeyer + Eckhard Rueter from Germany, 6th Team Ulvenhout from Netherlands, 7th Racing Team Illusion from Germany, 8th Aldahoum Loft from Kuwait, 9th Jedds Pigeon Supplies from United States Of America, 10th Florian Pitz from Germany, 11th Thorsten + Finn Leon Daum from Germany,
12th Guido Barth from Germany, 13th Christian Steinhagen from Germany, 14th Mielczarek Haplabs.com Team from Poland, 15th Peter Clarke from Australia, 16th Heritage Lofts from Australia, 17th Reinhold u Christoph Witzel from Germany, 18th Team Mille from Germany, 19th Wilhelm Stoll from Germany and 20th Leideman – Spithoven from Netherlands. The top twenty pigeons were separated by just31.15 seconds and there were 7 different countries represented in this to 20. A total of 3,922 pigeons were electronically clocked up to 17.08, when the weather closed in which left 101 still to make it back to the lofts. The Monday morning loft list showed 3,798 pigeons in the lofts, meaning that 45 pigeons were still missing.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 1st OPEN went to LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named LUCKY REWARD, a bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH, which was officially clocked at 09.31.27.10, this pigeon has previously won 2115th, 4893rd, 26th, 3161st, 9th, 3251st, 655th, 1586th, 3243rd, 2664th, N/C, N/S and now 1st OPEN, then 2nd UK, 63rd Open Roger Sutton from Congleton, 3rd UK, 72nd Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, 4th UK, 82nd Open another for Roger Sutton from Congleton, 5th UK, 126th Open Fairways Lofts with pigeon bred by Steve Burton from Pinxton, 6th UK, 143rd Open a third pigeon for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, 7th UK, 153rd Open Bottle Bucks with pigeon bred by Harry Davies from Bootle, 8th UK, 182nd Open Dream Team Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Dave Atkin from Lincoln, 9th UK, 190th Open a fourth pigeon for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, 10th UK, 200th Open a fifth pigeon for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, 11th UK, 202nd Open Robbie/Jan Prettejohn – Mike Underhill from Plymouth, 12th UK, 216th Open The Farrier with pigeon bred by Brian Greenley from Swinton, 13th UK, 219th Open Royal Lofts (Her Majesty The Queen) with pigeon bred by The Royal Loft Manager Peter Farrow from Wolverton, 14th UK, 222nd Open Tumley Lofts Stud with a pigeon bred by James & Vicky Cook from Beaworthy, 15th UK, 223rd Open Syndicates Beacon UK with pigeon bred by Ian Parsons from Penrith, 16th UK, 240th Open another for Fairways Lofts with pigeon bred by Steve Burton from Pinxton, 17th UK, 244th Open Stokes – Dearden Syndicate, administered by Paul & Roland Stokes from Leicester and with pigeon bred by John Dearden from Rochdale, 18th UK, 250th Open Dave Waterhouse from Portsmouth, 19th UK, 281st Open a sixth pigeon for the Lucky Devils Syndicate and 20th UK, 284th Open Danny Gruzlier from Kempston. It should be mentioned that the Lucky Devils Syndicate had a great race with six pigeons all bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough in this result. WELL DONE BOB YOUR PIGEONS REALLY ARE FLYING WELL IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CLIMATE. A total of 306 UK pigeons were officially clocked up to 17.08, leaving 6 still to make it back to the lofts. The Monday morning loft list showed 310 UK pigeons in the lofts, meaning that just 2 failed to return to the lofts.

CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 95th OPEN went to MAURICE O’DONNELL with his pigeon named INBRED JOSS, which was officially clocked at 09.33.12.30, just 1 minute and 45.20 seconds behind the race winner, this pigeon had previously won 2845th, 3398th, 4107th, 3001st, 3262nd, 1678th, 1613rd, 3707th, 744th, 927th, 1498th, 405th and now 95th OPEN, this is the second time Maurice’s pigeons have now won 1st IRELAND in this race series as he also won in TR11, 2nd Ireland, 110th Open Heping Yu, 3rd Ireland, 228th Open Jos Reilly – Team Ireland,
4th Ireland, 234th Open another for Jos Reilly – Team Ireland, 5th Ireland, 316th Open Billy Wallace and 6th Ireland, 567th Open Bernard Smyth – Gordon Brothers. A total of 57 Irish pigeons were officially recorded up to 17.08, leaving no pigeons to make it back to the lofts.

GLOBAL NOMINATIONS totalled US$13,132.50c (£8,755) and had 271 pigeons entered, with 17 from the United Kingdom and 1 from Ireland, plus there were a total of 914 nominations placed in this race. There were no UK winners. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS only totalled US$34 (£26.67p) with just 4 pigeons and 4 nominations and this was won by SYNDICATES BEACON UK with pigeon named MEABURN GLITZ bred by IAN PARSONS from PENRITH which took 223rd OPEN.

CASCADE CHALLENGE had a total of 332 entries, which included 17 from the United Kingdom and 2 from Ireland and there was a POT OF GOLD of US$15,407.50c (£10,271.67p) being flown for but unfortunately this money was not won and will now be carried over to ADDITIONAL TRAINING RACE 1 on Wednesday 18th December. The nearest pigeon took 8th OPEN for ALDAHOUM LOFT from KUWAIT with their pigeon named ALDAHOUM LOFT SUPER HERO which was just 16.59 seconds away from the actual race winner. The best UNITED KINGDOM pigeon took 216th OPEN for THE FARRIERS with pigeon named FARRIERS GOLD which was bred by BRIAN GREENLEY from SKIPTON. The best IRISH pigeon took 884th OPEN for BERNARD SMYTH – GORDON BROTHERS with their pigeon named EMERALD FIGHTER..

THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 13 races stands as follows:- 1st OPEN DAVID MATIS from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named REVISION with a combined flying time of 17.34.58.43, the performances so far are 491st, 1861st, 260th, 364th, 241st, 349th, 23rd, 292nd, 663rd, 1753rd, 706th, 32nd and now 1126th OPEN, this pigeon is currently leading by a clear 4 minutes. It is interesting to note that there are pigeons from 6 different countries in the top 10 positions in this category. UNITED KINGDOM AVERAGES after 13 races shows 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 20th OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE with pigeon named LUCKY REWARD, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH with a combined flying time of 18.23.00.15 and with performances of 1260th, 289th, 1280th, 963rd, 1061st, 114th, 57th, 304th, 3364th, 2181st, 308th, 1647th and now 2545th OPEN., this pigeon is currently leading by nearly 38 minutes, then 2nd UK, 52nd Open is Lucky Vision, also owned by the Lucky Devils Syndicate and 3rd UK, 97th Open Paul Smith Syndicate with a pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon. The UK team currently have 11 pigeons in the top 196 in this category. IRISH AVERAGES after 13 races shows 1st IRELAND, 320th OPEN BILLY WALLACE with pigeon named MAUREEN with a combined flying time of 21.14.37.78 and with performances of 1407th, 2087th, 325th, 1686th, 3367th, 1129th, 1006th, 1598th, 235th, 1183rd, 2401st, 636th and now 316th OPEN.

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

The training and race programme will consist of daily training tosses (except Sundays) and twenty-four (24) official races on Saturday’s and Wednesday’s. Next event will be an ADDITIONAL TRAINING RACE 1 on Wednesday 18th December from 78km (49 miles), then HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 on Saturday 21st December 2013 from 300km (187 miles), then Training Race 13 on Saturday 28th December 2013 from 120km (75 miles), then HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 on Saturday 4th January 2014 from 350km (218 miles), then Training Race 14 on Wednesday 8th January 2014 from 50km (31 miles), then Training Race 15 on Saturday 11th January 2014 from 80km (50 miles), then Training Race 16 on Wednesday 15th January 2014 from 80km (31 miles), then the penultimate Training Race 17 on Saturday 18th January 2014 from 125km (78 miles) and then THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE on Saturday 25th January 2014 from 550km (342 miles). All these races will be officially listed for all to see and view on the SAMDPR Web Site. Of course the weather conditions will have to be right for all of these races to take place, if not they will be basketed and liberated on another day when the weather forecast is better and the Race Director’s decision will be final. The object of this great race from day one has always been to get as many pigeons to the “FINAL RACE” as possible and give all fanciers, competitors and entrants a fair chance in the “FINAL RACE”. Only races of 80km (approx. 50 miles) will count towards The South African Million Dollar Overall ACE PIGEON Averages, which has a total of three cash prizes of US$10,000 (approx. £6,666), US$5,000 (approx. £3,333) and US$2,500 (approx. £1,666) for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in this category.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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