The void in animal sport (Latest Sabong News)
Author
Bill Velasco
Date
FEBRUARY 28 2022
“With a small, dedicated group, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.” – Brian Cox as Ivan Simanov, “RED”
The Philippines is a study in contradictions. Deeply nationalistic, its people have also absorbed much of the culture of its political, economic and pop culture colonizers: Spanish, American, Japanese and lately, Korean influences. And although it is Catholic, it has maintained many of its precolonial traditions. Filipinos themselves, arguably the nation’s leading export, have likewise been assimilatedall over the world.
Sport is one of the country’s greatest melting pots. Filipinos have shown an innate ability to become world champions at anything they set their mind on. Most sports have had a Filipino champion or world contender, and a growing number of sporting events have been conquered by Filipinos. In sports involving animals, though, the country is still evolving, catching up with everyone else. The variety found in other countries has not reached the archipelago.
There are very few professional sports involving animals in the Philippines, and there are groups of investors seeking to remedy that. With the rise of e-sabong (the digital transmission of traditional cockfighting online), horse racing has seen a dramatic decline in the past five years. Part of the reason is that they occupy many of the same betting stations. Cockfighting, prior to its current issues (and a possible shortage of chickens), also allows for more frequent wagering, and more combat, even 24 hours a day.
When the pandemic initially forced the closure of cockpits for safety reasons, online gaming platforms sought to fill in the void. A few tried holding spider fights, a street pastime in many cities. While there was a nice market for it, it was nowhere near as large as the cockfighting market.Recent attempts to similarly harness local pigeon racing have not taken off.
Now, there is at least one group of sportsmen seeking to give horse racing a shot in the arm. The unconfirmed reports indicate a possible track in an export zone in Luzon, allowing for the importation and seclusion of foreign race horses. This will give patrons a chance to watch at turfside and place their bets with the thrill of thundering hooves. It’s a gamble, but has strong potential.
Another group is supposedly studying the viability of dog races in the country. In other countries, greyhounds speed around an outdoor oval track in hot pursuit of a mechanical rabbit that they will never catch. In recent years, there have been attempts to revise races into straight up, one-on-one sprints. The problem is that greyhounds and the smaller whippets are not indigenous to the Philippines. Would spectators patronize other breeds, though?
Is there a creative solution to these problems? There soon will be.
