Never Late for the Gate
How New Turf Carriers Keep Racing’s Show On The Road
Above: The New Turf fleet (image: supplied)
We’ve seen the race day ambulance occasionally arrive late to scheduled meetings, delaying race times. Even jockeys, trainers and officials have been guilty, at times, of missing their required check-in times. It’s hard to remember, however, a day when horses arrived late to line up for respective races. The reason? In recent memory, this has not happened!
New Turf Carriers, South Africa’s largest horse transporter, will be in the spotlight as sponsors of the Merchants Sprint on Betway Summer Cup Day, but their real contribution is behind the scenes, where they quietly ensure that every race goes off with the correct number of carded runners.
It all seems automatic, taken for granted. Racing fans seldom stop to consider how horses actually get to the track. That New Turf Carriers are dealing with living, high-strung athletes rather than packages (how many times have you had specialist package couriers misplace deliveries or arrive late?) - makes their daily service all the more remarkable.
Operating 365 days a year, 24/7, New Turf ensures that thoroughbreds reach tracks, farms, and auction sales safely and on time. They are an indispensable cog in the racing machine, and the logistics required to coordinate these movements - often across long distances and tight schedules - are unique to the industry.
“Touchwood, we’ve never had a day when races have had to be delayed or cancelled due to our trucks not arriving on time,” said Matthew Sham who, along with his brothers Michael and Marcus, took over the business from their parents, Mark and Dorrie Sham, in 2009.
Above: Mark, Dorrie, Matthew, Michael and Marcus Sham (back), with team members Joel, Paulos and Grant (front) (image: supplied)
Mark started New Turf with a single trailer in 1995, and by 2009 it was a good, growing concern with several trucks. But, Matt explained, two consignments carrying horses were involved in serious accidents on the road from the old Ready To Run Sale at Summerhill Stud. “My parents were emotionally struck by what had happened and decided right there and then to call it a day. They decided to follow their dream of training horses instead of transporting them,” he said.
With Dorrie taking out her trainer’s licence and setting up shop at Fairview, the Sham brothers were offered an opportunity to take over the transport business and run with it. Mat recalled: “I was only 22 years old back then, Mike was 27 and Marcus was still a lightie , but we’d had some hands-on experience in helping the original New Turf team. So we didn’t really have much of a choice, and we committed to making a success of our venture.”
Just over 17 years later, New Turf Carriers is a horse transporting giant, now with 26 trucks based in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, and another logistics company, SF Logistics, has branched from it. ‘SF’ is for Sham Family Logistics, a company with 30 trucks in use countrywide, focusing on cargo. Marcus also started SF Pine Shavings, with eight trucks. He produces over 100,000 bags of shavings per month for horses and poultry farms.
The companies employ in the region of 100 individuals, and between New Turf and SF there is a detailed and specific network of operators that ensure that their operations run smoothly.
Above: New Turf's team of drivers (image: supplied)
“Many of our drivers have been with us for 10 years or longer. The latest driver employed, has been with us for five years. They are calm, experienced, and skilled in handling and transporting horses. We also have our own, seasoned grooms who travel with horses when required.”
The race operators fund the moving of horses to and from racecourses, and Matt said: “We plan our loading operations a day or two in advance, after the cards have been finalised. The trailers have a bottom, middle and top level and can take 15 horses at a time. An ordinary race meeting can require up to four loads, and for meetings like the Betway Summer Cup we’ll load up to eight times.”
New Turf start the first loading process about four hours before the start of the first race at any given venue, so that they can be at the track between one-and-a-half and two hours before race time. The other loads are similarly scheduled for the other races, or groups of races.
Traffic in all the main centres can come to a standstill on busy days due to bad weather or accidents on the road, but Matt said that their four-hour planning schedule has worked perfectly, for many years. “In any kind of transport there are factors one can never control, but social media and improved GPS information systems are of help to us. Our drivers know all the alternative routes and they map out their routes carefully in consideration of all factors.”
Above: Colesberg stop over (image: supplied)
On long-distance trips, New Turf has a network of veterinarians on standby and Matt said: “If there is an emergency anywhere on the road, we can call out vets to assist us. We also have a halfway house at Colesberg where horses are offloaded to rest, on the long trips to Gqeberha and Cape Town.
Also on standby are any number of truck mechanics, in case of breakdowns. Again, however, this is not something that happens often if at all. “We buy our trucks new so that they’re all under warranty contracts. They can literally go for a million km’s, but we trade them in once the warranties have expired.”
Above: Pink trailer in support of breast cancer awareness month (image: supplied)
New Turf last month added six new trucks to the fleet and one of them was fitted with a pink trailer in honour of the ‘Pink Drive’ cancer awareness promotions at Hollywoodbets Greyville. “A close family member was diagnosed with the disease this year, which just reinforced the importance of the cause,” said Matt.
New Turf’s presence is felt at all the big race days and sales, with Matt, especially, not averse to a good party. “The social side is what I enjoy most about the transport business. It balances the difficulty and stress of the operations. We’ve met some incredible people and we take pride in looking after their incredible animals.”
Above: Another safe delivery (image: supplied)