the Loft Report

Whitney Sabrowsky, Midwest HPA Publicity writer.

Whitney Sabrowsky
Midwest HPA Publicity writer

Pigeon racing must be one of the most unique hobbies in the world. There are very few, if any, sports that span across people in all walks and stages of life throughout the world. Fanciers have a lifelong fascination with pigeons and often decades of experience in the hobby. It is this dedication and passion that I find so intriguing. Over the past few years, I have had opportunities to write articles featuring the winning fanciers for the Minnesota Invitational Series and most recently, the Midwest Homing Pigeon Association’s Midwest Classic Race. The interviews for my articles have allowed me to “meet” many wonderful flyers and learn about their pigeons and methods. This article features some of the most memorable flyers I have had the privilege of interviewing. I hope you enjoy the stories of these diverse flyers. One thing I have learned is that no two pigeon flyers do things the same. The unifying thread is that all of the programs and methods have led to success. It is all about finding what works for you.

The Midwest Classic Race brings together pigeon flyers from across the central US for one of the most competitive races of the old bird season. Birds are tested mentally and physically as they are forced to break in several directions. The Midwest Homing Pigeon Association sponsors this annual tradition. The race began in 1948. In the early days of the association, there were over 1000 members. Over the years, the Classic race has grown from 2000 birds to as many as 7000 birds and up to 17 states competing. The liberation of 4,100 birds flown from 327 lofts was on June 29th from Topeka, Kansas.

Overall Classic Winner (300 Mile section)

Denny Mosher had a special childhood. He grew up in an area surrounded by Belgium fanciers in the Quad City region of Illinois. At one time, he recalls there being close to 100 fanciers in five square blocks. I am sure that many guys wish that they would have had an opportunity to grow up among Belgian fanciers! The Belgians had a strong influence on Denny, despite speaking their native language around the clubhouse. As a young boy, he would go fishing and trade the cleaned catch for a youngster straight from a Belgian’s loft. At 15 years of age, Denny began flying his own team. He funded his dues and race fees by earning 50 cents a clock for setting up the timers every week. Denny tucked away all of the advice given him and stayed with the sport for 35 years.

Denny races with the Moline East Moline club, a club with a long history beginning in the 1800s. Widowhood is the system of choice for him; he tried double widowhood but found himself going back to only racing the cocks. A small race team of around a dozen pigeons is all that Denny flies. He pays close attention to the birds: “I mix up their motivation every week or so. I might ship them without showing the hens for a couple weeks. I might lock them out of their boxes all week, and then open them for five minutes without the hens. I found it does matter what trick I use, as long as I keep it fresh.” His training is pretty straightforward, “I try to keep what I do as simple as possible”. The old birds are trained out to about 30 miles. Once the races begin, they are loft flown for 1 ½ hours every day, with the exception of Monday (day after return) if the race was not an easy one. Denny says that it is important to stick to a routine and not always be changing things.

2013 winner of the Midwest Classic, 4,100 birds, 327 lofts!

Race results are of great importance to Denny. He has built his loft around birds that have flown consistently well. Denny’s big Classic winner, 1080 MFLF 2010, is a blue bar cock. The mother to the bird is a Fabry; the father is a Tournier. 1080 has been a great flyer. Denny says that, “I have always believed in the theory of ‘Winners Breed Winners.’” The achievement of winning the Classic has given 1080 an early retirement from racing. He will be placed in the stock loft to breed the next generations of successful pigeons. Denny is confident in 1080’s ability as a breeder as his siblings have sired winners.

100 Mile Section Winner

Gerado Ceballos came out as the 100 mile class winner. When I called to speak with him, I discovered that he did not speak English. I have a lack of Spanish speaking skills, but fortunately I was able to interview him via email! A family member of Gerado’s was able to translate his responses. I truly appreciated her help! He wrote, “I’ve now been flying for four years. I met Walter Codney, and he gave me my first birds. He then introduced me to the ENRPC club where I learned a lot about raising, breeding, and maintaining a successful loft.”

Ceballos races on the natural system. He had a great Classic race where he claimed the first three spots on the top of the race sheet. One of my questions to Gerado was on how he manages his pigeons leading up to race day. His answer was, “Well, I take the birds training 2-3 times a week when preparing for races. I do try to make sure that my flyers are well prepared for distance races by making sure they get good nutrition. Keeping up with vaccination is important too.”

His winning bird is banded 68 AU 2012 COD. Gerado said, “This bird was given to me by Walter Codney. It is a Linbor cock. This bird was one of the first birds to come home in prior races so I did have high hopes for its performance.”

I try to seek advice from all of the successful flyers I interview. Gerado’s tips include, “All I can advise is to take the sport seriously, and if you are going to be a racer you have to be willing to learn and teach. I have learned a lot from the guys in the club, and they have been patient with me. You know what they say, ‘practice makes perfect.’ Also, getting the family involved makes things a lot more fun.”

200 Mile Section Winner

I was surprised, and delighted I might add, to speak with the winner of the 200 mile section. My curiosity was kindled when I noticed that someone named Tanner Michael only entered one pigeon in the Classic. And that single bird won the section and placed 2nd overall out of 4100 pigeons. My investigation led me to discover that Tanner is an 8-year old boy from Iowa.

Tanner and his siblings race with their dad, Justin. I actually spoke with both Tanner and his dad. The family has been keeping birds since 2007. Justin’s stepdad flew birds so Justin and his brother Stephen grew up with the hobby. When Justin grew older, he served in the Marines and went to college. At the sudden passing of their stepdad in 2007, Justin and his brother split up the birds. The timing might have not been perfect for Justin, due to his commitment to his young family, but nevertheless Justin was happy to have pigeons again.

Justin races with his kids in the Northeast Iowa RPC. The birds are flown on the natural system. Tanner told me that his winning bird, 32 AU 2011 CURE, is named “Buzz Lightyear.” This special pencil pied cock is a Sion crossed with the “Wonder” blood. He has been a consistent racer, flown twice to the 500 mile races as a yearling, and was a top finisher in the club in 2013.

I am always excited to see dads get their kids involved with the sport; and I especially enjoy kids who love the birds. Tanner is definitely involved and a part of the future of the sport. The pigeons are special to Tanner because “they are different, and nobody has them.” From the step dad who started it all, to both brothers who race today, to Justin’s kids, it is special that the Michael family keeps passing on the pigeon racing tradition.

400 Mile Section Winner

Howard Bodzianowski may not be the typical flyer who races in the Classic. The stereotypical Classic racer is serious about racing old birds, focused strictly on middle and long distance races, and may even be a little easy on his young birds. Rather, Howard considers himself a young bird specialist. In fact, 2013 was only his second year experimenting with racing old birds. However, do not let this detract from the success he has achieved in old bird racing. In the Classic alone, Howard had 9 of 25 birds in the top 10% (out of 2307) of the 400 mile class.

He lives near Chicago in an area that limits the amount of pigeons you may own. Howard has to choose whether to race old or young birds. But Howard has taken full advantage of this restriction by keeping his numbers low and focusing on turning a few birds into a super team. Howard grew up with fancy pigeons and remained curious about the racing variety as a young man. Finally in 1992, Howard acquired his first racers. He flew off and on during the 1990’s before consistently keeping birds since 2006.

Howard told me that there are a few people who have mentored him and helped him build a successful family of birds. He faithfully follows Mike Ganus’ 1-2-3 Racing System with medications, feeding, and training. Another resource that he credits to his success is the Jim Jenning’s “Secrets of Champions” DVDs. Lastly, Matt Wiesbrock of Alca Loft has been instrumental in mentoring Howard.

The winning hen, 8800 WRC 2011, was flown as a young bird. Then she was not flown as a yearling. In just two short seasons, this hen won 13 diplomas. Howard has a combination of Fabry’s, Vandabeele’s, Mona Lisa blood and a chocolate colored family.

Howard was an athlete as a youth. It is in his nature to be competitive and that is exactly what pigeon racing offers. His fantastic Classic race result is another achievement to add to his growing list of accomplishments which includes multiple average speed wins. Despite his old bird success, Howard thinks that he’ll return to racing young birds on the darkening system in 2014.

500 Mile Section Winner

Can you imagine flying the Classic race for the first time and placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd? Not only this, but also having 12 of 24 birds in the top 10% of 1067 birds? One could say “beginner’s luck”, but that is not the case for Robert Alvarez of Milwaukee, WI. Robert is a seasoned flyer with 35 years of experience. He began racing back home in Guadalajara, Mexico where pigeon racing is extremely popular. Later in life he moved to the US where he had pigeons in California for a while before ending up in Wisconsin and racing with the Kenosha RPC.

Robert’s job forces him to travel extensively, which leaves him unable to care for his pigeons every day of the week. Fortunately, he has a great club mate who cares for the pigeons in Robert’s absence. He notes that without the support of his wife and assistance from Fred Pieper (who also had fantastic Classic results of 5th, 6th and 7th), he could never keep up with his birds. Alvarez prepares the daily feed in buckets and labels everything so that whoever cares for the birds knows exactly what to do to keep them in optimum shape and health. The birds are flown naturally. Fred Pieper trains two times a week with both his own birds and Robert’s. The birds loft fly twice daily. Robert believes in letting the birds fly freely and not forcing them up.

The winning hen, 2924 COM 2010, was a consistent bird bred by a good friend of Robert’s in California. The bird was sent to Robert for a special young bird race. She is of Janssen blood lines. I asked him if he planned on keeping the three birds for the stock loft, but Robert told me that it is important to him to fly birds for two or three years no matter their records; too often people stock birds after one good performance, instead of looking for consistency before using the birds as breeders.
Simply put, Robert’s success is a combination of planning ahead, Fred Pieper’s help, and “keeping the pigeons happy”.

600 mile section winner

Pigeons have been an important family tradition for Tom Van Beek. He races from the same young bird loft as his cousin, Doug Johnston. Tom remembers how it all started, “Pigeon racing has been in our family since we were kids. Doug’s father, Johnny Johnston and grandfather, Floyd Johnston, were all pigeon flyers as well as Doug’s brother, Barney. It was the Johnston’s who got my father into racing.” Tom followed in the footsteps of his relatives and has been racing off and on since 1986.

The pigeons in the Van Beek loft are what Tom calls a “Heinz 57” strain, with a few exceptions. He keeps and breeds whatever performs well. Tom flies on the natural system. The section winner is a blue check pied hen. “She comes out of a 1/2 import from Silvere Toye, and the other 1/2 is out of my father’s red family. As a young bird, it won a 300 mile race. She was also my first bird home for 4 races. It was difficult to get her in races because she was always ready to lay an egg. When she did race, she did well.”

The 400 and 500 mile races are what Tom enjoys and does best at. His training consists of tosses of 30 miles, two or three times a week. When time permits, he tosses the birds in groups of five; if not, a larger group toss is done. The birds are permitted to loft fly often. 600 mile races are challenging. Tom takes care to remove the grit two days before shipping and also feeds extra so the birds put on some much needed weight as reserves for their intense flight. Since he flies on the natural system, Tom mentioned, “I try shipping them on 14 day old eggs so that they come home faster to a nest.” I asked Tom what he likes in body type for his birds. He remarks that, “My bird preference is small to medium build with wider flight feathers.”

Congratulations to all of the section winners and especially the 2013 Classic winner, Denny Mosher. This little article gives a bit of recognition for the efforts of the winners. However, no article can truly portray the hours, weeks, and years of work and experience that many flyers put into their hobby. Thank you to all the guys who graciously took time to speak with me.

Keep up to date with the Classic Race and view past results on our website www.midwesthpa.com. The date of the 2014 race is June 28th. View the website and click on “information sheet” to learn how to enter the race.

The Midwest Homing Pigeon Association hosts an annual convention every fall. The Fond du Lac Racing Pigeon Club is hosting the 2014 Midwest Convention October 9th -11th in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Be sure to reserve your spots in the convention race. Visit www.midwesthpa.com for entry forms and other important information.

Until next time, I wish everyone a successful breeding season. You just never know when the next Midwest Classic winner will hatch!

Submitted by Paul Smith
reglofts@aol.com

THE 18th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE

RESULTS FOR THE FINAL RACE IN THE 2013 & 2014 RACE SERIES

UNITED KINGDOM RACE TEAM HAVE A FANTASTIC RESULT AND WON THE FOLLOWING OPEN POSITIONS:-11th, 40th, 62nd, 63rd, 76th, 77th, 81st, 87th, 91st, 104th, 109th, 116th, 117th (DQ), 118th, 119th, 130th, 140th, 187th, 222nd, 242nd, 248th, 266th, 283rd & 296th OPEN. A total of 24 UK pigeons in the top 300. Plus the pigeon that came 23rd OPEN was for an UK Syndicate. The IRELAND TEAM ALSO WON THE FOLLOWING OPEN POSITIONS:- 93rd, 106th, 133rd, 202nd, 227th, 233rd & 268th OPEN, plus the pigeon that won 227th OPEN also won the coveted “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and the 1st PRIZE of US$25,000 (£16,667). A VERY TESTING INTERNATIONAL PIGEON RACE WITH ONLY 55 PIGEONS BEING OFFICIALLY CLOCKED ON THE DAY FROM 661km (411 MILES) AND WITH 6 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TAKING THE TOP 6 POSITIONS IN THE RACE AND A TOTAL OF 9 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES REPRESENTED IN THE TOP 20 IN THE OPEN RESULT.

So, after many months of preparation this fantastic international event was finally upon us and AIR SPORT INTERNATIONALE were once again looking forward to presenting another successful international pigeon race and good luck to all fanciers/entrants and competitors that still had pigeons left for the Final Race on Saturday 25th January 2014.

The race marking took place on the Thursday afternoon in an excellent air conditioned Conference Centre right across the road from the new lofts in Linbro Park and fanciers that were staying in the four Emperors Palace Hotels were then ferried in by coaches to assist with the official race marking. On arrival at the new lofts they were all invited to enjoy a South African Braai (Barbecue). Many fanciers also spent a long time looking at the design of the new lofts and the general opinion was that they were excellent and much better that the lofts that had been used in the races for the first 16 years when the race took place in Sun City. It was now time to start the Race Marking and the team of Auditors from EW Coetzee and Associates were once again present to do the official race marking and just like in past years it went without any major hitches. As usual this was attended by fanciers from all over the world and it took the team of markers just under five hours to complete the massive task of race marking the record breaking 3,478 pigeons that were going to compete in the 18th SAMDPR. The race convoy was made up by 3,254 International, which included 269 from the United Kingdom and 43 from Ireland, plus 224 from South Africa. Veterinary Officer, Dr. Marthinus Hartman was present at the race marking to check any injured pigeons and there were a total of 21 pigeons that were not basketed because of injuries and all these entrants will of course all get a full refund, as per the rules of the race. A total of 217 UN-ACTIVATED pigeons were sent to the race and this included 5 from the United Kingdom and just 2 from Ireland. However, none of these are eligible to win any of the cash or other prizes on offer in the Final Race. The record breaking number of 3,478 pigeons were entered by 40 competing countries as follows:- Australia 192, Austria 30, Bahrain 7, Belgium 187, Bulgaria 2, Canada 64, China 22, Croatia 1, Czech Republic 66, Denmark 59, Egypt 1, France 4, Germany 934, Hungary 12, Ireland 43, Italy 11, Japan 1, Kuwait 206, Malta 16, Moldova 1, Netherlands 255, Norway 12, Poland 70, Portugal 5, Puerto Rico 3, Qatar 7, Republic of Korea 20, Romania 44, Saudi Arabia 13, Slovakia 43, Slovenia 15, South Africa 224, Sweden 10, Switzerland 26, Tanzania 2, Turkey 4, United Arab Emirates 23, United Kingdom 269, United States Of America 568 and Zimbabwe 6. All the 40 countries that originally entered pigeons in the race were still represented in the Final Race. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK ALL THOSE THAT ASSISTED IN THE RACE MARKING, AS WITHOUT YOUR HELP IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN US MUCH LONGER TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.

Once again two officers from the NSPCA were present at the race marking, liberation of the pigeons and the arrival of the pigeons and they also attended the auction of the first 100 pigeons and they seemed suitably impressed by what they saw. It would appear that in spite of their opposition to all sports involving animals, a truce is evident now between them and our great international pigeon race.

***THE WELCOME DINNER***

Took place on Friday evening in the fabulous Senate Room in Emperors Palace and around 300 people sat down for a wonderful buffet meal. Unfortunately, Zandy Meyer (Race Director) had passed away at the end of June 2013 so the Master of Ceremony for the evening was Keith Lindsay whose job it was to introduce the speakers. Firstly, he called up Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport Internationale) and she stepped up to the podium and welcomed everybody present and stated the pigeons had arrived safely at the liberation site and the weather forecast for Saturday was excellent. Sara also stated that she would have some news regarding the 19th SAMDPR before this race weekend was over. August Daelemans from Belgium was then called up to the podium and he duly requested a minutes silence for the loss of our great friend Zandy Meyer who had died in June 2013, everybody stood up and respected this request. Then Willi van Beers from Germany was also called to the podium to speak to all the German fanciers and guests that were present. Then the MC Keith called on Joan-e Holt (Public Relations) and Kayla to hand out a small gift of appreciation to all the Sponsors and Country Race Shippers for all their help during the 2013/14 race season. These people were all greeted with great applause and a team photograph was taken by the official photographer. Our new MC Keith Lindsay did a great job introducing all of the people and also telling a couple of pigeon jokes during his introductions. It was now time to enjoy the food. Of course everybody was hoping that tomorrow would be their day and the place was buzzing with expectation. As usual the food was first class and after another great evening came to an end and fanciers departed and many made their way to other bars around the complex. For others the excitement was just too much and they retired to go to bed to get some sleep after another hectic day.

It was also announced at THE WELCOME DINNER that the transporters and convoy had a safe journey down to the new liberation site of PRIESKA a distance of 661km (411 miles) and that if the wind which was forecast was to be behind them stayed the same for Saturday and the weather was OK to liberate then the pigeons would be liberated at 06-00. The estimated flying time would be in the region between 8 to 10 hours on the wing. The weather forecast would be constantly checked right through the night and right up to the liberation time. Douglas was the original race point a distance of 552km (342 miles). The race rules quite clearly states that the race shall take anything between 8 to 10 hours to complete the journey. The convoyer, Corrie Naude estimated that the winning pigeons would take about 9 hours plus to complete their task.

Saturday morning soon dawned and I checked on my iPad to see the liberation time on the SAMDPR Web Site and it showed that the pigeons had been liberated at Prieska 611km (411 miles) at 06.00 in fine and clear conditions, with a light tail wind and a temperature at liberation site of 20c (68f). The temperature would rise during the day up to 31c (90f) and the weather forecast showed virtually no rain on the route home, so a good steady race was anticipated.

***THE CENTRE COURT***

Was now open to the public and after a hearty breakfast in my hotel I made my way to see what the trade stands had to offer. It was just after 9 am and the place was already full of hundreds of people shopping and also trying to get an early seat for the long day in front of them. The setting for this event was outstanding to say the least, with four big screens situated along the length of the room, with lots of seating for the fanciers/friends that had come to enjoy the day. Another separate area was cordoned off with tables and chairs for those that had previously booked tickets for and I walked into this area and placed two union jacks on the tables so that members of our UK Team had places when they arrived later. As usual the atmosphere was building up and everybody you spoke to seemed to think they were going to win it. I spoke to scores of fanciers and all seemed to think the race would be a tough one and the pigeons would take between 9 and 10 hours. Before I left for the lofts Alan Jordaan from South Africa took to the stage and told everybody to watch the screens as they were about to show the liberation of the pigeons the four massive screens in the Centre Court, everybody just watched with delight as the pigeons left the transporter on their long journey back to the lofts. He also then announced that the pigeons were liberated from Prieska, a distance of 611km (411 miles) and the view of most fanciers was that it was going to be a fairly tough race. Unfortunately, I then had to leave with Michael and Pieter around 11-00 as we had to travel to the race lofts to make sure all the systems were up and running OK with the Deister Electronic Unikon clocking system, computers and videostream which would of course go live to fanciers and competitors all over the world. Once we arrived everything was checked and found to be in order and now all we had to do now was wait and scan the sky for the arrival of the winning pigeon/s.

I was once again privileged to be present at the lofts for the eighteenth year on the trot and the weather was absolutely perfect and everybody present was expecting a good but testing race with good returns. The superb team of Auditors EW Coetzee and Associates were also present again to watch the winning pigeons arrive and then to verify each of the pigeons that won any of the top 300 cash prizes. Nothing in this race is left to chance, everything is checked and double checked and they have a job to do and always do it in an excellent manner.

The camera crew and the loft staff were now all in position on top of the lookout tower and the videostream cameras were all checked and in working order, so that anybody in the world that wanted to log on could see the winning pigeons arrive. Everything was also being relayed live into The Centre Court in Emperors Palace so that all the fanciers and friends that had turned up to enjoy the day could see exactly what was happening at the lofts. This also meant that pigeon fanciers all over the world could watch the race live as it unfolded and see all the winning pigeons arrive at the lofts.

After scanning the sky for quite a time and as usual a few false alarms I saw 5 pigeons approaching the lofts very low to the ground and bang on line, they swung round the lofts at 15.42 and finally they hit the loft roof, albeit quite away from the trapping pads, two of them moved very slowly towards the trapping area and the first one trapped and was clocked at 15.43.49.39, followed by the second at 15.45.44.89, then the third one finally entered the lofts at 15.56.19.75, the fourth at 15.56.38.15 and then the fifth walked for a few more minutes before being finally clocked at 16.01.49.09. So within a matter of minutes we knew who had won the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th positions in the most prestigious pigeon race in the world today.

***THE FINAL RACE OPEN RESULT***

CONGRATULATIONS goes to KARL ZIEFLE from GERMANY who took 1st OPEN with his pigeon named HALOVER which was officially clocked at 15.43.49.39 to record a winning velocity of 1239ypm (42mph). The performances of this winning pigeon over the 22 official races were as follows:- 1504th, 4785th, 4530th, 3977th, 2624th, 811th, 3533rd, 1361st, 1378th, 3805th, 2871st, 444th, 2677th, 3656th, 2829th, 3590th, 2023rd, 937th, 3490th, 3286th, 2370th and now 1st OPEN. This fancier won the US$125,000 (£83,334) First Prize, Winners Trophy, Winners Jackets and of course the coveted Gold Medal, plus of course having the accolade of being A WORLD CHAMPION. The winning pigeon was a blue hen, rung DV7164-13-0270W and was named SUN CITY – AS 2014, the sire was from Jan van de Pasch bloodlines from Sohn Baerke x Enkelin Lowieke and the mother was from Dirk van Dyck Di Caprio x Kannibaal bloodlines x Deieter Wohr Vandenabelle from AS – Vogel x Tocher De Majoor Blau Vandenabelle. The runner up and 2nd OPEN went to FAYEZ Q8 from Kuwait with pigeon named Q8 14 which was officially clocked at 15.45.44.89 just 1 minute 55.50 seconds behind the winner, this pigeon won US$80,000 (£53,334), Trophy and a Gold Medal, then 3rd OPEN went to Maria Krempler from Austria with her pigeon named Rocky which was officially clocked at 15.56.19.75 winning US$60,000 (£40,000), Trophy and a Gold Medal, then 4th OPEN went to Quest Syndicate – Barker from United States Of America with their pigeon named Horatius, clocked at 15.56.38.15 which won US$40,000 (£26,667), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 5th OPEN went to A and M Kearsey from Australia with their pigeon named Sorrento, clocked at 16.01.49.09 to win US$30,000 (£20,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 6th OPEN went to Las Vladimir and Juraj from Slovakia with their pigeon named Juraj, clocked at 16.17.19.19 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 7th OPEN went to Team Komm Hans, Komm from Germany with their pigeon named Eileen, clocked at 16.17.22.79 which won US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 8th OPEN went to Fahad R Alazme from Kuwait with pigeon named K 99, clocked at 16.17.39.29 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 9th OPEN went to Christian Steinhagen from Germany with pigeon named World Express, clocked at 16.22.29.74 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 10th OPEN went to Juergen Stefaniszyn from Germany with pigeon named Juergen 5, clocked at 16.24.18.04, winning US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal. Then 11th OPEN Lloyd and Kelly from United Kingdom with pigeon named I Forgot, clocked at 16.39.18.34 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 12th OPEN Balkanic Fair-Play Loft from Romania with pigeon named Prestige Kmg 3, clocked at 16.39.50.14 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 13th OPEN Rory Smith Loft from United States Of America with pigeon named Thriller, clocked at 16.40.54.44 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 14th OPEN Lenka Machara from Slovakia with pigeon named Matus, clocked at 16.52.14.69 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 15th OPEN Ruediger Schoenau from Germany with pigeon named Shirocco, clocked at 16.52.32.04 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 16th OPEN Helmut u Alfons Klaas from Germany with their pigeon named Alfonso Jr, clocked at 116.58.20.39 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 17th OPEN P vd Berg en Zn from Netherlands with pigeon named Athos, clocked at 17.04.41.45 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 18th OPEN Ferenc Butyka from Austria with pigeon named Krisztian, clocked at 17.04.43.70 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 19th OPEN David Knightes from United States Of America with pigeon named Cowboys First Choice, clocked at 17.06.03.84 winning US$8,000 (£5,334) and then 20th OPEN Nasser Awad from Kuwait with pigeon named Mzion, clocked at 17.23.12.63 winning US$8,000 (£5,334). The top twenty pigeons clocked had one hour thirty nine minutes and 24 seconds between them and there was 9 different countries represented in the top 20 positions. The remarkable thing with this race was that the first six positions went to pigeons from six different countries as can be seen by studying the results above. This really was a remarkable international result.

If you wish to see all the other race winners that won all the cash prizes from 21st to 300th you can log onto The South African Million Dollar Web Site on www.samdpr.com The prize money for these pigeons was as follows:- 21st/30th all won US$4,000 (£2,667) each, 31st/100th all won US$2,500 (£1,667) each, 101st/150th all won US$2,000 (£1,334) each and then 151st/300th all won US$1,000 (£667) each. Just under US$1 million paid out in total Prize Money in the Final Race.

A total of 55 gallant pigeons were officially recorded on the day up to 19.13 and this total included 2 pigeons which were Not-Activated which of course meant that they were not flying for any of the allocated prize money in this Final Race. From the 55 entered pigeons recorded on the day, this figure included 15 from the Germany, 12 from United States Of America, 5 from Kuwait, 3 from Belgium, 3 from Slovakia, 2 from Austria, 2 from Australia, 2 from Netherlands, 2 from Switzerland, 2 from Denmark, 2 from United Kingdom and 1 each for Qatar, Romania and Norway. The 2 pigeons that made it on the day but were Not-Activated were from Australia and Republic Of Korea.

Three pigeons were officially clocked during the hours of darkness and all three were German pigeons and they were clocked at 02.17.27.50, 02.18.08.02 and 02.18.22.55. The first pigeon clocked on the Sunday morning was a Belgian pigeon at 05.50.22.34 and the pigeons continued to fall out of the sky all day long and by 19.16 a total of 724 entered pigeons had been officially recorded, plus numerous Non-Activated pigeons. Pigeons were still homing right through the week and by Friday night a total of 1,026 entered pigeons had been officially recorded and this total included 60 pigeons that were Not-Activated. It was decided to leave the timing system on for another week so that fanciers could see if their pigeon/s had returned to the lofts and by the cut off time a total of 1,070 Activated pigeons had been clocked, plus numerous Non-Activated pigeons. A few more pigeons were recorded over the next few days and a loft list was put on the SAMDPR web site on Monday morning and this showed a total of 1,216 in the lofts. A further 87 pigeons returned to the lofts during the next few days, taking the total up to 1,303 that had returned to the lofts.
Total number returned from the Final Race was now up to 1,317 pigeons.

***UNITED KINGDOM FINAL RACE RESULT***

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 11th OPEN went to LLOYD and KELLY from ABINGDON with their pigeon named I FORGOT which was officially clocked at 16.39.18.34, which won US$8,000 (£5,334), Eamon has a good record in past Final Races and this pigeon was bred from his super pigeon Morning Glory which won twice 1st Section, 2nd Open Pau NFC and he in turn was bred from a pigeon named Little Margaret which won 1st Section, 1st Open Pau NFC 2004, the mother of I Forgot was bred by Geoff & Catherine Copper from their Farmer George bloodlines. Then 2nd UK, 40th Open were John & Peter Durkan from Ripon with pigeon named Durkan Anne and bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred for this partnership by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe, the sire being from Pieter’s Super Cock who has bred many good birds for him and other fanciers, the dam is named Blues and is owned by Durkan Brothers and she won 14th Open Derby Arona Final Race 2009 when only 39 pigeons homed on the day and she was bred by Karl Heinz Lang from Germany, 3rd UK, 62nd Open was Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with their pigeon named Carlos Choice which was bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this syndicate was formed and entered and paid for by Paul Smith, Eamon Kelly and Jos Reilly to keep the name of the late Carlo Napolitano (Past Loft Manager To Her Majesty The Queen) in front of fanciers that enter the race, as Carlo was a great supporter of this race, this great pigeon also won 14th Open in CRHS 4 & US$1,000 (£625) prize money and was bred from a long line of past winners in this great race, which include My Girl, Carlo, Lucky Lass, Wise Lass, Carlos Pearl and Jos 3, all of these pigeons have won prominent positions over the past 8 years, 4th UK, 63rd Open went to the Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Premier Diamond which was bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred from two direct Hardy Kruger pigeons and include bloodlines to Rambo, Armstrong, Black Power and Tiger Woods, 5th UK, 76th Open was Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Lucky Countess and bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was a Coormans Brothers which goes back to Milan, Michael, Tony, Stessy, Lady Boonen, Tessa & Aron, 6th UK, 77th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Stansted Delight bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was a Scammell & Peploe x Lefebre Dhaenens and bred down from The Nearly Cock that won 3 x 2nd Open Welsh Nationals, 7th UK, 81st Open Planet Brothers from Noak Hill with their pigeon named Titania winning US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred down from their famous Van Loon bloodlines and includes some of their great pigeons namely Scrumpy 30 x 1sts, One Four 26 x 1sts, Hitman 30 x 1sts & Car Winner, 8th UK, 87th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham with their pigeon named Hailsham Super winning US$2,500 (£1,667), 9th UK, 91st Open Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon named Graham’s Star bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton winning US$2,500 (£1,667), 10th UK, 104th Open Les & Derick Wellburn from Acklam with their pigeon named Megan winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 11th UK, 109th Open Bartley and Tweats Syndicate with their pigeon named In The Den winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 12th UK, 116th Open Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell with their pigeon named Fontwell Firefly winning US$2,000 (£1,334), this next pigeon home would have won 117th Open for Paul Bamford from Pembroke Dock with his pigeon named Welsh Maestro but unfortunately Paul did not Activate this pigeon into the race, so it was not eligible to win any prizes or prize money, 13th UK, 118th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Lucky Star bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 14th UK, 119th Open Charity Syndicate (Jacqueline Swift from Hartlepool) with pigeon named Charity Star which was bred for this syndicate by Bob Fenech from Attleborough and which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 15th UK, 130th Open Rixshaw Syndicate with pigeon named Shrewd and bred by Len Rix from Mildenhall winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 16th UK, 140th Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon named Speedy Cowgirl and bred by Peter Fox from Bangor winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 17th UK, 187th Open The Farrier with pigeon named Farriers Quest and bred by Brian Greenley from Swinton winning US$1,000 (£667), 18th UK, 222nd Open Guys Lofts with pigeon named Wendy’s Pride bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton winning US$1,000 (£667), 19th UK, 242nd Open Frank’s Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Franks Surprise bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon winning US$1,000 (£667), this syndicate was formed in memory of the late Frank Brammer from Hempsted who unfortunately passed away last year at the ripe old age of 93, 20th UK, 248th Open Mr & Mrs Andy Mabin from Buckfastleigh with their pigeon named Mabin 3 winning US$1,000 (£667), 21st UK, 266th Open Mark Gilbert from Windsor with pigeon named Southfield Gemini winning US$1,000 (£667), 22nd UK, 283rd Open Reach Then Join with pigeon named Zola Fin and bred by Peter Keogh from Broxburn winning US$1,000 (£667), 23rd UK, 296th Open Danny Gruzelier from Kempston with pigeon named Free Candy winning US$1,000 (£667). Congratulations to all the other UK pigeons that made it back to the lofts but unfortunately space does not permit me to list them all. There were only 2 UK pigeons clocked on the day and by Sunday evening at 18.17 a total of 59 UK pigeons (including one Non-Activated) had been officially clocked and a total of 82 UK pigeons (including one Non-Activated) when the race finally closed. On the Monday loft list it showed 85 UK had returned to the race lofts. A later loft list showed that another 8 UK pigeons had made it back to the lofts, making a total of 90.

***IRISH TEAM FINAL RACE RESULT***

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st IRELAND, 93rd OPEN went to PHILIP + MARK SMITH with their pigeon named THE FLYER which was officially clocked at 07.26.57.32 winning US£2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was actually bred by Philip + Mark Smith who have the remarkable record of having bred the 1st Ireland pigeon 5 times in the last 6 years. They also had 6 pigeons entered in the Final Race and all 6 took positions in the top 1,204 Open places. These are both truly remarkable records and ones that this partnership should be very proud of in such a prestigious international race. Then 2nd Ireland, 106th Open was Curtin Brothers with pigeon named Super Sonic which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 3rd Ireland, 133rd Open RS Homan with pigeon named Ryan which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 4th Ireland, 202nd Open Maurice O’Donnell with pigeon named Seraphina which won US$1,000 (£667), 5th Ireland, 227th Open Johnson – Leonard with their pigeon name Finglas Tornado which won US$1,000 (£667), this pigeon also won 1st Prize in the “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and won a cool US$25,000 (£16,667) for its efforts and syndicate and it should be mentioned that this pigeon was bred by Gerry McCourt who is the Irish Race Team Shipper and then 6th Ireland, 223rd Open Bob Daly with pigeon named Jail Bird which won US$1,000 (£667). Congratulations to all the other Irish pigeons that made it back to the lofts but unfortunately I can’t list them all. Unfortunately no Irish pigeons were officially clocked on the day and 15 were officially clocked by Sunday evening. A total of 24 Irish pigeons were officially recorded.

***THE OVERALL GRAND AVERAGES***

After 22 races was as follows:- 1st position and US$10,000 (£6,667) with a combined flying time of 44.51.18.89 went to pigeon named THRILLER and entered by RORY SMITH LOFT and bred by RORY SMITH from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2nd position and US$5,000 (£3,334) with a combined flying time of 47.37.26.65 went to pigeon named Leader and entered by Team Pilatus from Switzerland and bred by Alois Grueter. 3rd position and US$2,500 (£1,667) with a combined flying time of 48.49.29.74 went to pigeon named Hurrican and entered and bred by the world famous partnership of Helmut u Alfons Klaas from Germany. It should also be mentioned that this great partnership also took 4th position in this same category, which in itself is a remarkable achievement. The first United Kingdom pigeon took 6th position with a combined flying time of 52.25.55.43 with pigeon named Durkan Anne entered by John & Peter Durkan from Ripon and bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe. The next UK pigeon took 33rd position for Premier Stud UK Syndicate with pigeon named Premier Diamond, then 37th position Charity Syndicate with pigeon named Charity Star, then 49th position Lucky Devils Syndicate with pigeon named Lucky Star and then 50th and 69th positions for the Paul Smith Syndicate with pigeons named Stansted Delight and Stansted Girl. The first Irish pigeon took 68th position with a combined flying time of 67.55.21.35 with pigeon named The Gap and bred and entered by Philip + Mark Smith. Then 70th position for Johnson – Leonard with their pigeon named Finglas Tornado and then 109th position for Curtin Brothers with their pigeon named Super Sonic.

***KNOCKOUT COMPETITION***

And the US$25,000 (£16,667) FIRST PRIZE went to LEONARD – JOHNSON from IRELAND with his pigeon named FINGLAS TORNADO which was bred by GERRY McCOURT who is the Irish Race Team Shipper for this great race. This pigeon actually took 227th OPEN in the FINAL RACE. A total of 92 world class pigeons were left in this tough competition from an original record breaking entry of 3,610 pigeons. Performances of this winning pigeon during the 2013/14 race season were as follows:- 3407th, 4281st, 4840th, 3113rd, 2207th, 2270th, 1318th, 1637th, 2616th, 835th, 1358th, 2476th, 1816th, 2108th, 557th, 1325th, 169th, 2003rd, 2709th, 2643rd, 1654th and then 227th OPEN in the FINAL RACE. WELL DONE TO THIS FANCIER AND ALSO TO THE BREEDER OF THIS PIGEON AND OF COURSE TO THE IRISH TEAM ON THIS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE.

***CASCADE CHALLENGE***

Had a total prize fund of US$12,364.50 (£9,148.54p) and a total of 691 pigeons including 82 from the United Kingdom and 9 from Ireland were completing for “THE POT OF GOLD”. This competition was not won as the first pigeon clocked has to actually win 1st OPEN, so this prize money will now be carried over to the 19th SAMDPR. The first single nominated pigeon named SORRENTO actually took 5th OPEN for A & M KEARSEY from AUSTRALIA and just missing out winning this great cash. The first United Kingdom pigeon named I FORGOT and bred by LLOYD & KELLY from ABINGDON took 11th OPEN. The first Irish pigeon named MISCHIEVIOUS JODIE took 799th OPEN and was entered by PAT MAHER.

***GLOBAL NOMINATIONS***

Totalled a staggering record breaking US$117,521 (£78,348) and there were a total of 1,039 pigeons entered, including 78 United Kingdom and 7 Irish pigeons and there was a total of 4,784 Nominations which included 416 from the United Kingdom and 39 from Ireland. As usual this would turn out to be hotly contested competition and many fanciers won vast sums of money. It was interesting to note that there were 15 United Kingdom pigeons entered in the US$500 (£334) Nominations. A full result can be seen by logging onto www.samdpr.com but the UNITED KINGDOM winners were as follows:- 40th OPEN JOHN & PETER DURKAN from RIPON took 40th OPEN with pigeon named DURKAN ANNE and this pigeon won US$646 (£430.67p), 62nd OPEN CARLOS CHOICE SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and their pigeon named CARLOS CHOICE, bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN was an all pooler and won US$15,096 (£10,064) and the winnings will be equally shared between PAUL SMITH, JOS REILLY and EAMON KELLY, 87th OPEN JURGEN & CAROLINE JOSCH from HAILSHAM with pigeon named HAILSHAM SUPER won US$306 (£204), 91st OPEN GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon named GRAHAM’S STAR and bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON won US$6,596 (£4,397.33p), 104th OPEN LES & DERICK WELLBURN from ACKLAM with pigeon named MEGAN which won US$1,496 (£997.33p) and lastly 109th OPEN BARTLEY & TWEATS SYNDICATE with pigeon named IN THE DEN which won US$289 (£192.67p). Unfortunately there were no IRISH TEAM winners. A FANTASTIC RESULT IN THE FINAL RACE NOMINATIONS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM AND FANCIERS. WELL DONE TO ALL THE WINNERS.

***REGIONAL UK NOMINATIONS***

Totalled US$1,358.30c (£905.54p) and 29 pigeons were entered and a total of 112 nominations and the winners were as follows:- 87th OPEN JURGEN & CAROLINE JOSCH from HAILSHAM with HAILSHAM STAR which won US$229.50c (£153), 104th OPEN LES & DERICK WELLBURN from ACKLAM with MEGAN which won US$49.30c (£32.87p), 109th OPEN BARTLEY & TWEATS SYNDICATE with IN THE DEN which won US$51 (£34) and then lastly 359th OPEN LLOYD & KELLY from ABINGDON with STEVENTON STAR which won US$688.50c (£459), plus a US$340 (£226.67p) refund as they were the only entrants in the US$100 category. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS.

***THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES SLK 55 AMG CAR NOMINATION WORTH AROUND US$85,000 (£57,000)***

Was a brand new competition set up prior to the untimely death of Zandy Meyer who was the Race Director and the inspiration of this great race from day one. Nominations were unlimited at US$1,000 (£667) each and the response to this fabulous competition was that the organisation had a total of 163 pigeons entered and this included 22 from the United Kingdom and 6 from Ireland. This superb brand new competition was not going to be easy to win and because of the outstanding support, it was decided to pay out two fabulous prizes and the winners were as follows:- JAN HOOYMANS – HU ZHEN YU from NETHERLANDS with their pigeon named TYPHOON that won 43rd OPEN and clocked at 18.35.46.68 and winning the brand new Mercedes Motor Car valued at around US$85,000 (£57,000). Because of the success of this brand new competition it was agreed to pay out a second prize of US$53,550 (£36,000) and that was won by the GANUS FAMILY LOFT from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with their outstanding pigeon aptly named MIKE HAS A VERY GOOD ONE that won 53rd OPEN, this gallant pigeon was the last pigeon clocked on the day at 19.12.19.47 in virtual darkness. This fantastic pigeon had already won in excess of US$50,000 (£33,555) in Global and Regional Nominations throughout the 2013/14 race season and this result was a fantastic climax to a great season for MIKE GANUS. Both these entrants had fantastic results right through the 2013/14 race season so in a way it was good to see and very fitting for them to both walk away with a “POT OF GOLD” for their pigeons efforts. In all these Nomination Races somebody has to miss out and be unlucky for not winning a prize and in this competition the unlucky ones on this occasion were the CARLOS DREAM SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with their good pigeon named CARLOS CHOICE that won 62nd OPEN which was bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN. However, this gallant pigeon did manage to win a cool US$15,096 (£10,064) for its efforts in the Global Nominations. The 3 equal shareholders in this syndicate were PAUL SMITH, JOS REILLY and EAMON KELLY. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.

***HOT SPOT CAR RACE WINNERS***

In the 18th SAMDPR four out of the five Car Winners were basketed for the Final Race and two were officially clocked in the race result.

***THE CELEBRATION/AWARDS WINNERS DINNER***

Took place in the Senate Room at 19.30 and once again the hundreds of fanciers/friends were pouring in to this great hall and it was great to see that my fellow travellers had saved me a seat. Cheers guys. It was now finally the time for a few speeches to take place and Keith Lindsay (MC) called Paul Smith from the United Kingdom to the podium to say a few words on the race so far. Paul explained that the pigeons had encountered a very tough day from the 661 km (411 mile) race but 55 gallant pigeons had been recorded on the day. He highlighted that all the first 6 pigeons clocked were from fanciers from different countries and congratulated all the winners especially the German Team as they had four pigeons in the top ten in the result, he also congratulated the Kuwait Team as they also had two pigeons in the top ten. However, he could not close without mentioning Eamon Kelly one of his United Kingdom entrants who took 11th OPEN with his pigeon I FORGOT and Paul renamed this pigeon I FOROT TO PUT THIS PIGEON IN THE NOMINATIONS AND CAR NOMINATION. He then closed his speech by thanking everybody concerned for their support and wished them all a safe journey home and he looked forward to seeing them all again next year at the race weekend. Keith our MC then called Willi van Beers from Germany to do a similar speech in German to his fellow countrymen. Both speeches were greeted with loud applause. Keith our MC then asked Joan-E Holt (Public Relations) to present the prizes to the first five Country Trophies and US$5,000 (£3,334) cash prizes that were won on the 5th Hot Spot Car Race and once that was done she started from tenth and worked his way down to first place in the Final Race, for all of those that were present or their representative were all greeted with great applause and the names of all these winners are mentioned above in the Open result. It was now the time for the “RACE WINNER” to be called to the stage and this was KARL ZEIFLE from GERMANY with pigeon named HALOVER, unfortunately this fancier was not present WILLI VAN BEERS from GERMANY was called to the stage to receive his awards and winners cheque for US$125,000 (£83,334). As he approached the stage the noise was unbelievable and he accepted the Winner’s Trophy, Winner’s Jacket, Gold Medal and of course the Winner’s Cheque. Everybody rushed up to take photographs and after this Willi made a very nice speech and thanked everybody concerned with this great race for their dedication and effort they put in annually into organising this great international pigeon race, especially when so much had happened since the last two years. HENK JURRIENS from NETHERLANDS who was in partnership with the winner of the previous race got up onto the podium and make a brilliant speech, thanking everybody concerned with the race and congratulation the winner of the 18th SAMDPR. His speech was also applauded loudly by all present. The night continued and once again the food on offer was outstanding to say the least and the staff were excellent and many stayed up late into the night dancing and celebrating another successful year in The Million Dollar Pigeon Race history.

***THE FIRST 100 PIGEONS CLOCKED WERE AUCTIONED***

The next morning in the superb Conference Centre in Linbro Park, right opposite the loft site with viewing starting from 9 to 11am. Coaches were again laid on for those that wanted to go to the auctions and the hall was packed with local and international pigeon fanciers from literally all over the world all hoping they could secure the pigeon or pigeons they wanted to purchase. An announcement was made prior to the start of the auction notifying everybody in the hall that because of export restrictions currently in place in South Africa that bids from fanciers that could not place their pigeon or pigeons in a loft in South Africa unfortunately would not be able to bid for any pigeons. This rule unfortunately also applies to online bidders. The SAMDPR organisers hope to be able to resolve this issue before the 19th SAMDPR takes place. The auctioneers were introduced to the fanciers and they included Martin Beneke, Alan Jordaan, August Daelemans, Saville Penkin and Paul Smith would assist as a spotter for the bids from fanciers. The auctioneer started with Lot 1 and that made ZAR210,000 (£11,667), Lot 2 sold for ZAR145,000 (£8,056), Lot 3 sold for ZAR185,000 (£10,287), Lot 4 sold for ZAR90,000 (£5,000), Lot 5 sold for ZAR85,000 (£4,723). It should be mentioned that Lots 1, 2, 4 & 5 were all purchased by Mike Ganus from USA, who has purchased quite a few top pigeons over the last few years. Lot 16 sold for ZAR100,000 (£5,556), Lot 24 sold for ZAR150,000 (£8,334), Lot 43 THE MERCEDES SLK 55 AMG WINNER sold for ZAR85,000 (£4,723), Lot 53 THE RUNNER UP IN THE ZANDY MEYER CAR NOMINATION sold for ZAR30,000 (£1,667), Lot 90 sold for ZAR180,000 (£10,000) with many more making between ZAR10,000 (£556) each and ZAR20,000 (£1,112) each. Quite a few made between ZAR35,000 (£1,945) and ZAR40,000 (£2,223) each. The total raised amounted to a staggering ZAR1,970,000 (£109,445) an average of ZAR19,700 (£1,095) per pigeon. Once again it just goes to show the value that pigeon fanciers all over the world put on pigeons that score in this great race. If you wish to see a full list of all the pigeons for sale by auction and the auction prices, then please log onto www.samdpr.com and go into the auction site on the left hand side of the home page. This auction of the first 100 pigeons plus all the other 32 online auctions at the current time are available for all to see and all have 35 pigeons listed for sale. These online auctions started on 15th February and will go onto 12th April 2014. Any pigeons that return to the lofts will be auctioned in a couple of special online auction at a date yet to be announced and so far there is a further 136 that have returned to the lofts which will have to be sold. The auctioneers did a marvellous job and managed to get good money out of all the buyers. ONE THING TO CONSIDER ABOUT THE SAMDPR AUCTIONS IS THAT AFTER YOUR PIGEON OR PIGEONS ARE SOLD, YOU GET 50% AFTER EXPENSES OF THE AUCTION PRICE AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE ABOVE FIGURES THIS ALONE CAN BRING YOU IN A VERY NICE CASH REWARD.

***THE AUCTIONS***

Will take place over the next few weeks and so far a further 32 online auctions have been organised in the headquarters of 32 pigeon clubs literally all over South Africa. This is in itself a massive task with 35 pigeons going to each venue and all have to be listed and given a Lot number. Currently over 1,350 pigeons have returned from the race, so a few more auctions may be listed on the web site as pigeons return back from the race.

Of course massive thanks must go to The Organising Committee, which consists of Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport Internationale), Joan-e Holt (Public Relations), Marion Brandford (Administration), Michael Holt & Pieter Saayman (Systems Administrators), Andre van Wyk & Dave van der Merve (Loft Managers), Corrie Naude (Convoyer & Trainer), Paul Smith (United Kingdom Race Team Shipper & International Race Co-ordinator), Cornay Smith (Attorney for Air Sport Internationale), Henri Stiglingh (International Ambassador), Dr. Marthinus Hartman and Dr. Francois Le Grange (Veterinary Officers), Peter Furstenberg (Shine Interactive) and his great team, Ben (The Blog) Williams for all the photographs he supplies over the race weekend to the SAMDPR Web Site, Twitter and Facebook, plus of course all the loft lads that assist in all the daily duties. Without their input and help throughout this race would never even get off the ground. Likewise a million thanks to our fantastic “TEAM” of Country Race Shippers and Co-ordinators who go out of their way to get all the pigeons from all over the world shipped out to South Africa to compete in this great race. Also thanks must go to Frank Nebig from Netherlands and of course all his staff from Animals To Fly for all their help and assistance during another hectic year. Another person that needs to be personally thanked for all her work and effort is Deirdre Kallmeyer of African Olive Travel Concepts, plus her excellent staff for acting as the official travel company for this great race. Lastly but not least a “BIG THANK YOU” to The Peermont Group and especially Emperors Palace for hosting the 18th SAMDPR and we all hope that this business relationship will last for many years to come. It really is an outstanding complex/resort that must rank as one of the outstanding in the world today.

The South African Million Dollar Web Site is administered by Peter Furstenberg and his staff from Shine Interactive, ably assisted by Michael Holt and Pieter Saayman (SAMDPR Systems Administrators). These people work their butts off to get vital information onto this state of the art web site www.samdpr.com so fanciers all over the world can be kept up to date with what is happening during all the training and races that take place during the whole race season. They also run all the online auctions. This is a massive task and one that makes this great race so special, as they try to keep fanciers informed with the information they need throughout the race season. It is without doubt the most up to date and informative pigeon race web site in the world today and one I personally know they are very pleased to present. Over the past few years the official “HITS” on this web site have increased as follows:- 3 million for 2003 race, 5 million for the 2004 race, 8 million for the 2005 race, 14 million for the 2006 race, 16 million for the 2007 race, 20 million for the 2008 race, 25 million for the 2009 race, 48 million for the 2010 race, 50 million for the 2011 race, 60 million for the 2012 and once again a record breaking number for the last 2012/13 race season. Figures are not yet to hand for the 2013/14 race season but as soon as they are available they will be published in a later International Press Release for all to see. IF IT IS INFORMATION YOU REQUIRE, THEN THIS IS CERTAINLY THE PIGEON RACE TO ENTER IN THE FUTURE. The month of January 2013 showed a total of 104,316 visitors logged onto the web site. However, this month of January 2014 we had a total of 172,574 visitors logged onto the web site, a massive increase of 68,258 visitors. During the race day on 25th January 2014 there was an average of over 2,000 visitors to the web site every minute at its peak. This just goes to show the great interest that this international pigeon race attracts from fanciers literally all over the world.

***VIDEOSTREAM SYSTEM***

Over the past two years this state of the art system of being able to watch live the Training Races, Car Hot Spot Races and the Final Race from literally thousands of miles away, sitting in the comfort of your own home has become more and more popular with fanciers all over the world. Last year the race day showed a total of 1,456 viewers. However, the actual race day this year we had our highest ever number of spectators, which exceeded over 2,335 at one time, an increase in 879 people. Such is the power of this wonderful new global technology. My personal thanks go to the guys that sit there and make this service available to all of us. WELL DONE TO ALL OF YOU, YOU REALLY ARE STARS.

Somebody else that needs a “SPECIAL MENTION” is BEN (THE BLOG) WILLIAMS who takes hundreds of photographs over the weekend and puts them on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE WEB SITE plus TWITTER and FACEBOOK for thousands of people to see. HIS SERVICE IS SECOND TO NONE AND IS GREATLY APPRECIATED BY OUR GREAT TEAM.

I would just like to notify fanciers all over the world that my weekly International Press Releases and Newsletters will all be published in our two weekly United Kingdom based pigeon magazines, namely “The British Homing World” and “The Racing Pigeon” and also this information is used in many pigeon magazines all over the world. Information is also be sent out to numerous other Web Sites:- www.regencylofts.com, www.iprr.co.uk, www.elimarpigeons.com, www.pigeonportal.com, www.cyberpigeon.co.uk, www.pigeonbasics.com, www.pigeoncare.nl, www.starpigeons.com, www.fancierchat.com and www.pigeonpixels.co.uk, www.theLoftReport.com

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

If any fancier in the United Kingdom, Ireland or in fact any country in the world would like to receive my weekly International Press Releases and Newsletters by email, then all you have to do is email your request to reglofts@aol.com and I will add your email address to my database, then all information will be forwarded to you on a regular basis. ***SHIPPING DATES FOR THE 19th SAMDPR*** My first shipping date for The 19th South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race will be on TUESDAY 20th MAY 2014. My second shipping date will be on TUESDAY 17th JUNE 2014. However, it should be mentioned that your pigeons will need to be with me by midday on both these mentioned dates. The race date for The 19th South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race has now been confirmed as SATURDAY 24th JANUARY 2015.

***THE ALLOCATION OF THE OFFICIAL “FINAL RACE” PRIZE MONEY FOR THE 19th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE***

It has now been confirmed by Air Sport Internationale that the prize money for the 19th SAMDPR will be as follows:- 1st US$150,000 (£93,750), 2nd US$100,000 £62,500,3rd US$75,000 (£46,875), 4th US$50,000 (£31,250), 5th US$40,000 (£25,000), 6th US$25,000 (£15,625), 7th US$17,500 (£10,938), 8th US$15,000 (£9,375), 9th US$12,500 (£7,813), 10th US$10,000 (£6,250), 11th/15th US$7,500 (£4,688 each), 16th/20th US$5,000 (£3,125 each), 21st/30th US$4,000 (£2,500 each), 31st/40th US3,500 (£2,188 each), 41st/50th US$3,000 (£1,875 each), 51st/70th US$2,000 (£1,250 each), 71st/100th US$1,750 (£1,094 each), 101st/150th US$1,500 (£938 each), 151st/200th US$1,250 (£782 each), 201st/300th US$1,100 (£688 each). These £ figures are based on US$1.60 to the Pounds Sterling. The total Prize Money in The 19th SAMDPR Final Race has now been increased to a staggering US$1,002500 Million American Dollars (£626,563 Pounds Sterling). This is the first time that the prize fund in the Final Race has exceeded US$1 Million American Dollars. Plus of course all the other competitions and prize money that can be won during the 2014/15 race series, this total is now in excess of US$1,600000 Million American Dollars (£1,000000 Million Pounds Sterling). More new competitions will be introduced for the 2014/15 race series and these will be stated in a later International Press Release when all the information is available. It should also now be mentioned that there will no longer be a US$25 (£16) Registration Fee per team of 3 pigeons, that has been in existence from day one and this has now been scrapped. However, the Entry Fee for a team of 3 pigeons will now be increased to US$1,100 (£688) compared with US$1,025 (£641) in past years. It should be mentioned that this is the first increase in 19 years and this is of course due to many increases in staff wages, transport costs, fuel, web site, pigeon feed and administration costs. Also fanciers should take into consideration that for this extra US$75 (£47) increase, the total prize money has increased and also some of this extra US$75 (£47) will actually be going into a brand new competition which will be open to all entrants to compete in.

THIS RACE IS WITHOUT DOUBT STILL THE GREATEST AND BIGGEST ONE LOFT RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY AND THE ONE THAT HAS A PROVEN TRACK RECORD AND THE ONE THAT HAS ALWAYS PAID OUT ALL OF ITS ALLOCATED PRIZE MONEY SINCE DAY ONE.

Once again many rumours are flying around but in a recent notification from Air Sport Internationale (The Presenters Of This Great Race) stated:- The pigeon lofts at Sun City are still in the possession of Air Sport Internationale who constructed them. These lofts will remain theirs until such time they reach the end of their lease agreement with Sun International. The lofts currently house the pigeons awaiting export and are managed by the people appointed by Air Sport Internationale. The lofts are still under the auspices of the relevant State Veterinary Authorities.

If you would like to enter this race and “FLY THE FLAG FOR YOUR COUNTRY”, then all you have to do is contact me as soon as possible and I will give you all the information your require. Since the inception of this prestigious race we have had over 50 different countries enter and each year we seem to encourage new countries to compete. We already have numerous new countries that want to enter pigeons and join in the fun next year. So why not try to get a few teams from your country and join in the fun in the sun?

I now have the new 19th SAMDPR Rules/Regulations and Official Registration & Entry Forms available. If you would like me to send you one, then please either telephone me or email me and I will get one out to you without delay.

Of course, one of the main reasons for the success in this great race is the extremely professional way it has been run from the start, plus of course they have always paid out their projected prize money every year since the race started way back in 1997 and this is the reason that this race is known the world over as “THE BIGGEST & GREATEST ONE LOFT PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY” and “THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD”. Over the past 18 years this race has also been described as the “OLYMPICS” in the world of pigeon racing and every year entry records are broken, this has only been achieved by the sheer dedication of all the staff that run and administer this fantastic international pigeon race.

All I can say is that once again this race and also the new venue for the second year was a resounding success and we look forward to fanciers literally all over the world entering their top class pigeons into the next race and then booking a trip out to South Africa to watch the race actually happen. Apart from just coming out to watch the race, you can also enjoy the fantastic South African countryside and weather plus of course the superb South African hospitality.

I would just like to personally thank all the pigeon fanciers, friends and relations that travelled out from the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus all the international travellers from literally all over the world that travelled out to be part of The 18th SAMDPR. I spoke to many of them and they all said that they really enjoyed themselves and said they would be travelling back for the next race, health permitting of course. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUBERB SUPPORT, IT REALLY WAS GREATLY APPRECIATED BY THE RACE ORGANISERS.

I will once again for the 19th year be organising a “Trip Of A Lifetime”, so why not join my group and enjoy being part of “The Biggest & Greatest One Loft Pigeon Race In The World Today?” I am currently awaiting a price from my travel agents in South Africa for a very special trip that will take in 5 nights in in the 5 Star D’Oreale Hotel at Emperors Palace for The 19th South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race. Extra nights will be optional or if you want to visit other parts or areas of South Africa during your stay then please let me know and I will get a quote for you. If you are genuinely interested in joining my group, then please contact me as soon as possible as this trip will only take place if there are enough people interested in doing it.

I would just like to apologise for the delay in getting this International Press Release published but as I am sure most of you already know, I stay for another two weeks in South Africa after the race and I can only start preparing this report on my return back to the United Kingdom. I then have to source certain photographs to use, plus of course to compile a report like this takes a tremendous amount of my time. This year however I had to travel off to Las Vegas after a few days in the UK so this added a further short delay. However, everything is now complete and I hope you now enjoy reading about the experience and I hope you decide to enter some of your top class pigeons into The 19th South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race.

I close this International Press Release by personally thanking the Editors and staff of The British Homing World and The Racing Pigeon for giving the 18th SAMDPR their top class coverage and for publishing the weekly training and race reports throughout the 2013/14 race season. Thanks must also go to all the other worldwide pigeon publications and web sites all over the world that publish my weekly reports which gives fanciers all around the world the opportunity be kept up to date with what is actually happening in South Africa.

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 took place in Linbro Park, Sandton, 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 Address:- reglofts@aol.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Regency Lofts Web Site Address:- www.regencylofts.com The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site Address:- www.samdpr.com or www.scmdpr.com

UNITED KINGDOM RACE TEAM HAVE A FANTASTIC RESULT AND WON THE FOLLOWING OPEN POSITIONS:-11th, 40th, 62nd, 63rd, 76th, 77th, 81st, 87th, 91st, 104th, 109th, 116th, 117th (DQ), 118th, 119th, 130th, 140th, 187th, 222nd, 242nd, 248th, 266th, 283rd & 296th OPEN. A total of 24 UK pigeons in the top 300. Plus the pigeon that came 23rd OPEN was for an UK Syndicate. The IRELAND TEAM ALSO WON THE FOLLOWING OPEN POSITIONS:- 93rd, 106th, 133rd, 202nd, 227th, 233rd & 268th OPEN, plus the pigeon that won 227th OPEN also won the coveted “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and the 1st PRIZE of US$25,000 (£16,667). A VERY TESTING INTERNATIONAL PIGEON RACE WITH ONLY 55 PIGEONS BEING OFFICIALLY CLOCKED ON THE DAY FROM 661km (411 MILES) AND WITH 6 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TAKING THE TOP 6 POSITIONS IN THE RACE AND A TOTAL OF 9 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES REPRESENTED IN THE TOP 20 IN THE OPEN RESULT.

The race marking took place on the Thursday afternoon in an excellent air conditioned Conference Centre right across the road from the new lofts in Linbro Park and fanciers that were staying in the four Emperors Palace Hotels were then ferried in by coaches to assist with the official race marking. On arrival at the new lofts they were all invited to enjoy a South African Braai (Barbecue). Many fanciers also spent a long time looking at the design of the new lofts and the general opinion was that they were excellent and much better that the lofts that had been used in the races for the first 16 years when the race took place in Sun City. It was now time to start the Race Marking and the team of Auditors from EW Coetzee and Associates were once again present to do the official race marking and just like in past years it went without any major hitches. As usual this was attended by fanciers from all over the world and it took the team of markers just under five hours to complete the massive task of race marking the record breaking 3,478 pigeons that were going to compete in the 18th SAMDPR. The race convoy was made up by 3,254 International, which included 269 from the United Kingdom and 43 from Ireland, plus 224 from South Africa. Veterinary Officer, Dr. Marthinus Hartman was present at the race marking to check any injured pigeons and there were a total of 21 pigeons that were not basketed because of injuries and all these entrants will of course all get a full refund, as per the rules of the race. A total of 217 UN-ACTIVATED pigeons were sent to the race and this included 5 from the United Kingdom and just 2 from Ireland. However, none of these are eligible to win any of the cash or other prizes on offer in the Final Race. The record breaking number of 3,478 pigeons were entered by 40 competing countries as follows:- Australia 192, Austria 30, Bahrain 7, Belgium 187, Bulgaria 2, Canada 64, China 22, Croatia 1, Czech Republic 66, Denmark 59, Egypt 1, France 4, Germany 934, Hungary 12, Ireland 43, Italy 11, Japan 1, Kuwait 206, Malta 16, Moldova 1, Netherlands 255, Norway 12, Poland 70, Portugal 5, Puerto Rico 3, Qatar 7, Republic of Korea 20, Romania 44, Saudi Arabia 13, Slovakia 43, Slovenia 15, South Africa 224, Sweden 10, Switzerland 26, Tanzania 2, Turkey 4, United Arab Emirates 23, United Kingdom 269, United States Of America 568 and Zimbabwe 6. All the 40 countries that originally entered pigeons in the race were still represented in the Final Race. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK ALL THOSE THAT ASSISTED IN THE RACE MARKING, AS WITHOUT YOUR HELP IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN US MUCH LONGER TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.

***THE WELCOME DINNER*** took place on Friday evening in the fabulous Senate Room in Emperors Palace and around 300 people sat down for a wonderful buffet meal. Unfortunately, Zandy Meyer (Race Director) had passed away at the end of June 2013 so the Master of Ceremony for the evening was Keith Lindsay whose job it was to introduce the speakers. Firstly, he called up Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport Internationale) and she stepped up to the podium and welcomed everybody present and stated the pigeons had arrived safely at the liberation site and the weather forecast for Saturday was excellent. Sara also stated that she would have some news regarding the 19th SAMDPR before this race weekend was over. August Daelemans from Belgium was then called up to the podium and he duly requested a minutes silence for the loss of our great friend Zandy Meyer who had died in June 2013, everybody stood up and respected this request. Then Willi van Beers from Germany was also called to the podium to speak to all the German fanciers and guests that were present. Then the MC Keith called on Joan-e Holt (Public Relations) and Kayla to hand out a small gift of appreciation to all the Sponsors and Country Race Shippers for all their help during the 2013/14 race season. These people were all greeted with great applause and a team photograph was taken by the official photographer. Our new MC Keith Lindsay did a great job introducing all of the people and also telling a couple of pigeon jokes during his introductions. It was now time to enjoy the food. Of course everybody was hoping that tomorrow would be their day and the place was buzzing with expectation. As usual the food was first class and after another great evening came to an end and fanciers departed and many made their way to other bars around the complex. For others the excitement was just too much and they retired to go to bed to get some sleep after another hectic day.

It was also announced at THE WELCOME DINNER that the transporters and convoy had a safe journey down to the new liberation site of PRIESKA a distance of 661km (411 miles) and that if the wind which was forecast was to be behind them stayed the same for Saturday and the weather was OK to liberate then the pigeons would be liberated at 06-00. The estimated flying time would be in the region between 8 to 10 hours on the wing. The weather forecast would be constantly checked right through the night and right up to the liberation time. Douglas was the original race point a distance of 552km (342 miles). The race rules quite clearly states that the race shall take anything between 8 to 10 hours to complete the journey. The convoyer, Corrie Naude estimated that the winning pigeons would take about 9 hours plus to complete their task.

***THE CENTRE COURT*** was now open to the public and after a hearty breakfast in my hotel I made my way to see what the trade stands had to offer. It was just after 9 am and the place was already full of hundreds of people shopping and also trying to get an early seat for the long day in front of them. The setting for this event was outstanding to say the least, with four big screens situated along the length of the room, with lots of seating for the fanciers/friends that had come to enjoy the day. Another separate area was cordoned off with tables and chairs for those that had previously booked tickets for and I walked into this area and placed two union jacks on the tables so that members of our UK Team had places when they arrived later. As usual the atmosphere was building up and everybody you spoke to seemed to think they were going to win it. I spoke to scores of fanciers and all seemed to think the race would be a tough one and the pigeons would take between 9 and 10 hours. Before I left for the lofts Alan Jordaan from South Africa took to the stage and told everybody to watch the screens as they were about to show the liberation of the pigeons the four massive screens in the Centre Court, everybody just watched with delight as the pigeons left the transporter on their long journey back to the lofts. He also then announced that the pigeons were liberated from Prieska, a distance of 611km (411 miles) and the view of most fanciers was that it was going to be a fairly tough race. Unfortunately, I then had to leave with Michael and Pieter around 11-00 as we had to travel to the race lofts to make sure all the systems were up and running OK with the Deister Electronic Unikon clocking system, computers and videostream which would of course go live to fanciers and competitors all over the world. Once we arrived everything was checked and found to be in order and now all we had to do now was wait and scan the sky for the arrival of the winning pigeon/s.

***THE FINAL RACE OPEN RESULT*** CONGRATULATIONS goes to KARL ZIEFLE from GERMANY who took 1st OPEN with his pigeon named HALOVER which was officially clocked at 15.43.49.39 to record a winning velocity of 1239ypm (42mph). The performances of this winning pigeon over the 22 official races were as follows:- 1504th, 4785th, 4530th, 3977th, 2624th, 811th, 3533rd, 1361st, 1378th, 3805th, 2871st, 444th, 2677th, 3656th, 2829th, 3590th, 2023rd, 937th, 3490th, 3286th, 2370th and now 1st OPEN. This fancier won the US$125,000 (£83,334) First Prize, Winners Trophy, Winners Jackets and of course the coveted Gold Medal, plus of course having the accolade of being A WORLD CHAMPION. The winning pigeon was a blue hen, rung DV7164-13-0270W and was named SUN CITY – AS 2014, the sire was from Jan van de Pasch bloodlines from Sohn Baerke x Enkelin Lowieke and the mother was from Dirk van Dyck Di Caprio x Kannibaal bloodlines x Deieter Wohr Vandenabelle from AS – Vogel x Tocher De Majoor Blau Vandenabelle. The runner up and 2nd OPEN went to FAYEZ Q8 from Kuwait with pigeon named Q8 14 which was officially clocked at 15.45.44.89 just 1 minute 55.50 seconds behind the winner, this pigeon won US$80,000 (£53,334), Trophy and a Gold Medal, then 3rd OPEN went to Maria Krempler from Austria with her pigeon named Rocky which was officially clocked at 15.56.19.75 winning US$60,000 (£40,000), Trophy and a Gold Medal, then 4th OPEN went to Quest Syndicate – Barker from United States Of America with their pigeon named Horatius, clocked at 15.56.38.15 which won US$40,000 (£26,667), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 5th OPEN went to A and M Kearsey from Australia with their pigeon named Sorrento, clocked at 16.01.49.09 to win US$30,000 (£20,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 6th OPEN went to Las Vladimir and Juraj from Slovakia with their pigeon named Juraj, clocked at 16.17.19.19 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 7th OPEN went to Team Komm Hans, Komm from Germany with their pigeon named Eileen, clocked at 16.17.22.79 which won US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 8th OPEN went to Fahad R Alazme from Kuwait with pigeon named K 99, clocked at 16.17.39.29 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 9th OPEN went to Christian Steinhagen from Germany with pigeon named World Express, clocked at 16.22.29.74 to win US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal, then 10th OPEN went to Juergen Stefaniszyn from Germany with pigeon named Juergen 5, clocked at 16.24.18.04, winning US$15,000 (£10,000), Trophy and Gold Medal. Then 11th OPEN Lloyd and Kelly from United Kingdom with pigeon named I Forgot, clocked at 16.39.18.34 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 12th OPEN Balkanic Fair-Play Loft from Romania with pigeon named Prestige Kmg 3, clocked at 16.39.50.14 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 13th OPEN Rory Smith Loft from United States Of America with pigeon named Thriller, clocked at 16.40.54.44 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 14th OPEN Lenka Machara from Slovakia with pigeon named Matus, clocked at 16.52.14.69 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 15th OPEN Ruediger Schoenau from Germany with pigeon named Shirocco, clocked at 16.52.32.04 to win US$8,000 (£5,334), 16th OPEN Helmut u Alfons Klaas from Germany with their pigeon named Alfonso Jr, clocked at 116.58.20.39 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 17th OPEN P vd Berg en Zn from Netherlands with pigeon named Athos, clocked at 17.04.41.45 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 18th OPEN Ferenc Butyka from Austria with pigeon named Krisztian, clocked at 17.04.43.70 winning US$8,000 (£5,334), 19th OPEN David Knightes from United States Of America with pigeon named Cowboys First Choice, clocked at 17.06.03.84 winning US$8,000 (£5,334) and then 20th OPEN Nasser Awad from Kuwait with pigeon named Mzion, clocked at 17.23.12.63 winning US$8,000 (£5,334). The top twenty pigeons clocked had one hour thirty nine minutes and 24 seconds between them and there was 9 different countries represented in the top 20 positions. The remarkable thing with this race was that the first six positions went to pigeons from six different countries as can be seen by studying the results above. This really was a remarkable international result.

Total number returned from the Final Race was now up to 1,317 pigeons.

***UNITED KINGDOM FINAL RACE RESULT*** CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 11th OPEN went to LLOYD and KELLY from ABINGDON with their pigeon named I FORGOT which was officially clocked at 16.39.18.34, which won US$8,000 (£5,334), Eamon has a good record in past Final Races and this pigeon was bred from his super pigeon Morning Glory which won twice 1st Section, 2nd Open Pau NFC and he in turn was bred from a pigeon named Little Margaret which won 1st Section, 1st Open Pau NFC 2004, the mother of I Forgot was bred by Geoff & Catherine Copper from their Farmer George bloodlines. Then 2nd UK, 40th Open were John & Peter Durkan from Ripon with pigeon named Durkan Anne and bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred for this partnership by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe, the sire being from Pieter’s Super Cock who has bred many good birds for him and other fanciers, the dam is named Blues and is owned by Durkan Brothers and she won 14th Open Derby Arona Final Race 2009 when only 39 pigeons homed on the day and she was bred by Karl Heinz Lang from Germany, 3rd UK, 62nd Open was Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with their pigeon named Carlos Choice which was bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this syndicate was formed and entered and paid for by Paul Smith, Eamon Kelly and Jos Reilly to keep the name of the late Carlo Napolitano (Past Loft Manager To Her Majesty The Queen) in front of fanciers that enter the race, as Carlo was a great supporter of this race, this great pigeon also won 14th Open in CRHS 4 & US$1,000 (£625) prize money and was bred from a long line of past winners in this great race, which include My Girl, Carlo, Lucky Lass, Wise Lass, Carlos Pearl and Jos 3, all of these pigeons have won prominent positions over the past 8 years, 4th UK, 63rd Open went to the Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Premier Diamond which was bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred from two direct Hardy Kruger pigeons and include bloodlines to Rambo, Armstrong, Black Power and Tiger Woods, 5th UK, 76th Open was Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Lucky Countess and bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was a Coormans Brothers which goes back to Milan, Michael, Tony, Stessy, Lady Boonen, Tessa & Aron, 6th UK, 77th Open Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Stansted Delight bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon which won US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was a Scammell & Peploe x Lefebre Dhaenens and bred down from The Nearly Cock that won 3 x 2nd Open Welsh Nationals, 7th UK, 81st Open Planet Brothers from Noak Hill with their pigeon named Titania winning US$2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was bred down from their famous Van Loon bloodlines and includes some of their great pigeons namely Scrumpy 30 x 1sts, One Four 26 x 1sts, Hitman 30 x 1sts & Car Winner, 8th UK, 87th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham with their pigeon named Hailsham Super winning US$2,500 (£1,667), 9th UK, 91st Open Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon named Graham’s Star bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton winning US$2,500 (£1,667), 10th UK, 104th Open Les & Derick Wellburn from Acklam with their pigeon named Megan winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 11th UK, 109th Open Bartley and Tweats Syndicate with their pigeon named In The Den winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 12th UK, 116th Open Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell with their pigeon named Fontwell Firefly winning US$2,000 (£1,334), this next pigeon home would have won 117th Open for Paul Bamford from Pembroke Dock with his pigeon named Welsh Maestro but unfortunately Paul did not Activate this pigeon into the race, so it was not eligible to win any prizes or prize money, 13th UK, 118th Open another for the Lucky Devils Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Lucky Star bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 14th UK, 119th Open Charity Syndicate (Jacqueline Swift from Hartlepool) with pigeon named Charity Star which was bred for this syndicate by Bob Fenech from Attleborough and which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 15th UK, 130th Open Rixshaw Syndicate with pigeon named Shrewd and bred by Len Rix from Mildenhall winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 16th UK, 140th Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon named Speedy Cowgirl and bred by Peter Fox from Bangor winning US$2,000 (£1,334), 17th UK, 187th Open The Farrier with pigeon named Farriers Quest and bred by Brian Greenley from Swinton winning US$1,000 (£667), 18th UK, 222nd Open Guys Lofts with pigeon named Wendy’s Pride bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton winning US$1,000 (£667), 19th UK, 242nd Open Frank’s Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Franks Surprise bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon winning US$1,000 (£667), this syndicate was formed in memory of the late Frank Brammer from Hempsted who unfortunately passed away last year at the ripe old age of 93, 20th UK, 248th Open Mr & Mrs Andy Mabin from Buckfastleigh with their pigeon named Mabin 3 winning US$1,000 (£667), 21st UK, 266th Open Mark Gilbert from Windsor with pigeon named Southfield Gemini winning US$1,000 (£667), 22nd UK, 283rd Open Reach Then Join with pigeon named Zola Fin and bred by Peter Keogh from Broxburn winning US$1,000 (£667), 23rd UK, 296th Open Danny Gruzelier from Kempston with pigeon named Free Candy winning US$1,000 (£667). Congratulations to all the other UK pigeons that made it back to the lofts but unfortunately space does not permit me to list them all. There were only 2 UK pigeons clocked on the day and by Sunday evening at 18.17 a total of 59 UK pigeons (including one Non-Activated) had been officially clocked and a total of 82 UK pigeons (including one Non-Activated) when the race finally closed. On the Monday loft list it showed 85 UK had returned to the race lofts. A later loft list showed that another 8 UK pigeons had made it back to the lofts, making a total of 90.

***IRISH TEAM FINAL RACE RESULT*** CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st IRELAND, 93rd OPEN went to PHILIP + MARK SMITH with their pigeon named THE FLYER which was officially clocked at 07.26.57.32 winning US£2,500 (£1,667), this pigeon was actually bred by Philip + Mark Smith who have the remarkable record of having bred the 1st Ireland pigeon 5 times in the last 6 years. They also had 6 pigeons entered in the Final Race and all 6 took positions in the top 1,204 Open places. These are both truly remarkable records and ones that this partnership should be very proud of in such a prestigious international race. Then 2nd Ireland, 106th Open was Curtin Brothers with pigeon named Super Sonic which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 3rd Ireland, 133rd Open RS Homan with pigeon named Ryan which won US$2,000 (£1,334), 4th Ireland, 202nd Open Maurice O’Donnell with pigeon named Seraphina which won US$1,000 (£667), 5th Ireland, 227th Open Johnson – Leonard with their pigeon name Finglas Tornado which won US$1,000 (£667), this pigeon also won 1st Prize in the “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and won a cool US$25,000 (£16,667) for its efforts and syndicate and it should be mentioned that this pigeon was bred by Gerry McCourt who is the Irish Race Team Shipper and then 6th Ireland, 223rd Open Bob Daly with pigeon named Jail Bird which won US$1,000 (£667). Congratulations to all the other Irish pigeons that made it back to the lofts but unfortunately I can’t list them all. Unfortunately no Irish pigeons were officially clocked on the day and 15 were officially clocked by Sunday evening. A total of 24 Irish pigeons were officially recorded.

***THE OVERALL GRAND AVERAGES*** after 22 races was as follows:- 1st position and US$10,000 (£6,667) with a combined flying time of 44.51.18.89 went to pigeon named THRILLER and entered by RORY SMITH LOFT and bred by RORY SMITH from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2nd position and US$5,000 (£3,334) with a combined flying time of 47.37.26.65 went to pigeon named Leader and entered by Team Pilatus from Switzerland and bred by Alois Grueter. 3rd position and US$2,500 (£1,667) with a combined flying time of 48.49.29.74 went to pigeon named Hurrican and entered and bred by the world famous partnership of Helmut u Alfons Klaas from Germany. It should also be mentioned that this great partnership also took 4th position in this same category, which in itself is a remarkable achievement. The first United Kingdom pigeon took 6th position with a combined flying time of 52.25.55.43 with pigeon named Durkan Anne entered by John & Peter Durkan from Ripon and bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe. The next UK pigeon took 33rd position for Premier Stud UK Syndicate with pigeon named Premier Diamond, then 37th position Charity Syndicate with pigeon named Charity Star, then 49th position Lucky Devils Syndicate with pigeon named Lucky Star and then 50th and 69th positions for the Paul Smith Syndicate with pigeons named Stansted Delight and Stansted Girl. The first Irish pigeon took 68th position with a combined flying time of 67.55.21.35 with pigeon named The Gap and bred and entered by Philip + Mark Smith. Then 70th position for Johnson – Leonard with their pigeon named Finglas Tornado and then 109th position for Curtin Brothers with their pigeon named Super Sonic.

***KNOCKOUT COMPETITION*** and the US$25,000 (£16,667) FIRST PRIZE went to LEONARD – JOHNSON from IRELAND with his pigeon named FINGLAS TORNADO which was bred by GERRY McCOURT who is the Irish Race Team Shipper for this great race. This pigeon actually took 227th OPEN in the FINAL RACE. A total of 92 world class pigeons were left in this tough competition from an original record breaking entry of 3,610 pigeons. Performances of this winning pigeon during the 2013/14 race season were as follows:- 3407th, 4281st, 4840th, 3113rd, 2207th, 2270th, 1318th, 1637th, 2616th, 835th, 1358th, 2476th, 1816th, 2108th, 557th, 1325th, 169th, 2003rd, 2709th, 2643rd, 1654th and then 227th OPEN in the FINAL RACE. WELL DONE TO THIS FANCIER AND ALSO TO THE BREEDER OF THIS PIGEON AND OF COURSE TO THE IRISH TEAM ON THIS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE.

***CASCADE CHALLENGE*** had a total prize fund of US$12,364.50 (£9,148.54p) and a total of 691 pigeons including 82 from the United Kingdom and 9 from Ireland were completing for “THE POT OF GOLD”. This competition was not won as the first pigeon clocked has to actually win 1st OPEN, so this prize money will now be carried over to the 19th SAMDPR. The first single nominated pigeon named SORRENTO actually took 5th OPEN for A & M KEARSEY from AUSTRALIA and just missing out winning this great cash. The first United Kingdom pigeon named I FORGOT and bred by LLOYD & KELLY from ABINGDON took 11th OPEN. The first Irish pigeon named MISCHIEVIOUS JODIE took 799th OPEN and was entered by PAT MAHER.

***GLOBAL NOMINATIONS*** totalled a staggering record breaking US$117,521 (£78,348) and there were a total of 1,039 pigeons entered, including 78 United Kingdom and 7 Irish pigeons and there was a total of 4,784 Nominations which included 416 from the United Kingdom and 39 from Ireland. As usual this would turn out to be hotly contested competition and many fanciers won vast sums of money. It was interesting to note that there were 15 United Kingdom pigeons entered in the US$500 (£334) Nominations. A full result can be seen by logging onto www.samdpr.com but the UNITED KINGDOM winners were as follows:- 40th OPEN JOHN & PETER DURKAN from RIPON took 40th OPEN with pigeon named DURKAN ANNE and this pigeon won US$646 (£430.67p), 62nd OPEN CARLOS CHOICE SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and their pigeon named CARLOS CHOICE, bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN was an all pooler and won US$15,096 (£10,064) and the winnings will be equally shared between PAUL SMITH, JOS REILLY and EAMON KELLY, 87th OPEN JURGEN & CAROLINE JOSCH from HAILSHAM with pigeon named HAILSHAM SUPER won US$306 (£204), 91st OPEN GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon named GRAHAM’S STAR and bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON won US$6,596 (£4,397.33p), 104th OPEN LES & DERICK WELLBURN from ACKLAM with pigeon named MEGAN which won US$1,496 (£997.33p) and lastly 109th OPEN BARTLEY & TWEATS SYNDICATE with pigeon named IN THE DEN which won US$289 (£192.67p). Unfortunately there were no IRISH TEAM winners. A FANTASTIC RESULT IN THE FINAL RACE NOMINATIONS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM TEAM AND FANCIERS. WELL DONE TO ALL THE WINNERS.

***REGIONAL UK NOMINATIONS*** totalled US$1,358.30c (£905.54p) and 29 pigeons were entered and a total of 112 nominations and the winners were as follows:- 87th OPEN JURGEN & CAROLINE JOSCH from HAILSHAM with HAILSHAM STAR which won US$229.50c (£153), 104th OPEN LES & DERICK WELLBURN from ACKLAM with MEGAN which won US$49.30c (£32.87p), 109th OPEN BARTLEY & TWEATS SYNDICATE with IN THE DEN which won US$51 (£34) and then lastly 359th OPEN LLOYD & KELLY from ABINGDON with STEVENTON STAR which won US$688.50c (£459), plus a US$340 (£226.67p) refund as they were the only entrants in the US$100 category. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS.

***THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL MERCEDES SLK 55 AMG CAR NOMINATION WORTH AROUND US$85,000 (£57,000)*** was a brand new competition set up prior to the untimely death of Zandy Meyer who was the Race Director and the inspiration of this great race from day one. Nominations were unlimited at US$1,000 (£667) each and the response to this fabulous competition was that the organisation had a total of 163 pigeons entered and this included 22 from the United Kingdom and 6 from Ireland. This superb brand new competition was not going to be easy to win and because of the outstanding support, it was decided to pay out two fabulous prizes and the winners were as follows:- JAN HOOYMANS – HU ZHEN YU from NETHERLANDS with their pigeon named TYPHOON that won 43rd OPEN and clocked at 18.35.46.68 and winning the brand new Mercedes Motor Car valued at around US$85,000 (£57,000). Because of the success of this brand new competition it was agreed to pay out a second prize of US$53,550 (£36,000) and that was won by the GANUS FAMILY LOFT from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with their outstanding pigeon aptly named MIKE HAS A VERY GOOD ONE that won 53rd OPEN, this gallant pigeon was the last pigeon clocked on the day at 19.12.19.47 in virtual darkness. This fantastic pigeon had already won in excess of US$50,000 (£33,555) in Global and Regional Nominations throughout the 2013/14 race season and this result was a fantastic climax to a great season for MIKE GANUS. Both these entrants had fantastic results right through the 2013/14 race season so in a way it was good to see and very fitting for them to both walk away with a “POT OF GOLD” for their pigeons efforts. In all these Nomination Races somebody has to miss out and be unlucky for not winning a prize and in this competition the unlucky ones on this occasion were the CARLOS DREAM SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with their good pigeon named CARLOS CHOICE that won 62nd OPEN which was bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN. However, this gallant pigeon did manage to win a cool US$15,096 (£10,064) for its efforts in the Global Nominations. The 3 equal shareholders in this syndicate were PAUL SMITH, JOS REILLY and EAMON KELLY. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.

***HOT SPOT CAR RACE WINNERS*** in the 18th SAMDPR four out of the five Car Winners were basketed for the Final Race and two were officially clocked in the race result.

***THE CELEBRATION/AWARDS WINNERS DINNER*** took place in the Senate Room at 19.30 and once again the hundreds of fanciers/friends were pouring in to this great hall and it was great to see that my fellow travellers had saved me a seat. Cheers guys. It was now finally the time for a few speeches to take place and Keith Lindsay (MC) called Paul Smith from the United Kingdom to the podium to say a few words on the race so far. Paul explained that the pigeons had encountered a very tough day from the 661 km (411 mile) race but 55 gallant pigeons had been recorded on the day. He highlighted that all the first 6 pigeons clocked were from fanciers from different countries and congratulated all the winners especially the German Team as they had four pigeons in the top ten in the result, he also congratulated the Kuwait Team as they also had two pigeons in the top ten. However, he could not close without mentioning Eamon Kelly one of his United Kingdom entrants who took 11th OPEN with his pigeon I FORGOT and Paul renamed this pigeon I FOROT TO PUT THIS PIGEON IN THE NOMINATIONS AND CAR NOMINATION. He then closed his speech by thanking everybody concerned for their support and wished them all a safe journey home and he looked forward to seeing them all again next year at the race weekend. Keith our MC then called Willi van Beers from Germany to do a similar speech in German to his fellow countrymen. Both speeches were greeted with loud applause. Keith our MC then asked Joan-E Holt (Public Relations) to present the prizes to the first five Country Trophies and US$5,000 (£3,334) cash prizes that were won on the 5th Hot Spot Car Race and once that was done she started from tenth and worked his way down to first place in the Final Race, for all of those that were present or their representative were all greeted with great applause and the names of all these winners are mentioned above in the Open result. It was now the time for the “RACE WINNER” to be called to the stage and this was KARL ZEIFLE from GERMANY with pigeon named HALOVER, unfortunately this fancier was not present WILLI VAN BEERS from GERMANY was called to the stage to receive his awards and winners cheque for US$125,000 (£83,334). As he approached the stage the noise was unbelievable and he accepted the Winner’s Trophy, Winner’s Jacket, Gold Medal and of course the Winner’s Cheque. Everybody rushed up to take photographs and after this Willi made a very nice speech and thanked everybody concerned with this great race for their dedication and effort they put in annually into organising this great international pigeon race, especially when so much had happened since the last two years. HENK JURRIENS from NETHERLANDS who was in partnership with the winner of the previous race got up onto the podium and make a brilliant speech, thanking everybody concerned with the race and congratulation the winner of the 18th SAMDPR. His speech was also applauded loudly by all present. The night continued and once again the food on offer was outstanding to say the least and the staff were excellent and many stayed up late into the night dancing and celebrating another successful year in The Million Dollar Pigeon Race history.

***THE FIRST 100 PIGEONS CLOCKED WERE AUCTIONED*** the next morning in the superb Conference Centre in Linbro Park, right opposite the loft site with viewing starting from 9 to 11am. Coaches were again laid on for those that wanted to go to the auctions and the hall was packed with local and international pigeon fanciers from literally all over the world all hoping they could secure the pigeon or pigeons they wanted to purchase. An announcement was made prior to the start of the auction notifying everybody in the hall that because of export restrictions currently in place in South Africa that bids from fanciers that could not place their pigeon or pigeons in a loft in South Africa unfortunately would not be able to bid for any pigeons. This rule unfortunately also applies to online bidders. The SAMDPR organisers hope to be able to resolve this issue before the 19th SAMDPR takes place. The auctioneers were introduced to the fanciers and they included Martin Beneke, Alan Jordaan, August Daelemans, Saville Penkin and Paul Smith would assist as a spotter for the bids from fanciers. The auctioneer started with Lot 1 and that made ZAR210,000 (£11,667), Lot 2 sold for ZAR145,000 (£8,056), Lot 3 sold for ZAR185,000 (£10,287), Lot 4 sold for ZAR90,000 (£5,000), Lot 5 sold for ZAR85,000 (£4,723). It should be mentioned that Lots 1, 2, 4 & 5 were all purchased by Mike Ganus from USA, who has purchased quite a few top pigeons over the last few years. Lot 16 sold for ZAR100,000 (£5,556), Lot 24 sold for ZAR150,000 (£8,334), Lot 43 THE MERCEDES SLK 55 AMG WINNER sold for ZAR85,000 (£4,723), Lot 53 THE RUNNER UP IN THE ZANDY MEYER CAR NOMINATION sold for ZAR30,000 (£1,667), Lot 90 sold for ZAR180,000 (£10,000) with many more making between ZAR10,000 (£556) each and ZAR20,000 (£1,112) each. Quite a few made between ZAR35,000 (£1,945) and ZAR40,000 (£2,223) each. The total raised amounted to a staggering ZAR1,970,000 (£109,445) an average of ZAR19,700 (£1,095) per pigeon. Once again it just goes to show the value that pigeon fanciers all over the world put on pigeons that score in this great race. If you wish to see a full list of all the pigeons for sale by auction and the auction prices, then please log onto www.samdpr.com and go into the auction site on the left hand side of the home page. This auction of the first 100 pigeons plus all the other 32 online auctions at the current time are available for all to see and all have 35 pigeons listed for sale. These online auctions started on 15th February and will go onto 12th April 2014. Any pigeons that return to the lofts will be auctioned in a couple of special online auction at a date yet to be announced and so far there is a further 136 that have returned to the lofts which will have to be sold. The auctioneers did a marvellous job and managed to get good money out of all the buyers. ONE THING TO CONSIDER ABOUT THE SAMDPR AUCTIONS IS THAT AFTER YOUR PIGEON OR PIGEONS ARE SOLD, YOU GET 50% AFTER EXPENSES OF THE AUCTION PRICE AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE ABOVE FIGURES THIS ALONE CAN BRING YOU IN A VERY NICE CASH REWARD.

***THE AUCTIONS*** will take place over the next few weeks and so far a further 32 online auctions have been organised in the headquarters of 32 pigeon clubs literally all over South Africa. This is in itself a massive task with 35 pigeons going to each venue and all have to be listed and given a Lot number. Currently over 1,350 pigeons have returned from the race, so a few more auctions may be listed on the web site as pigeons return back from the race.

The South African Million Dollar Web Site is administered by Peter Furstenberg and his staff from Shine Interactive, ably assisted by Michael Holt and Pieter Saayman (SAMDPR Systems Administrators). These people work their butts off to get vital information onto this state of the art web site www.samdpr.com so fanciers all over the world can be kept up to date with what is happening during all the training and races that take place during the whole race season. They also run all the online auctions. This is a massive task and one that makes this great race so special, as they try to keep fanciers informed with the information they need throughout the race season. It is without doubt the most up to date and informative pigeon race web site in the world today and one I personally know they are very pleased to present. Over the past few years the official “HITS” on this web site have increased as follows:- 3 million for 2003 race, 5 million for the 2004 race, 8 million for the 2005 race, 14 million for the 2006 race, 16 million for the 2007 race, 20 million for the 2008 race, 25 million for the 2009 race, 48 million for the 2010 race, 50 million for the 2011 race, 60 million for the 2012 and once again a record breaking number for the last 2012/13 race season. Figures are not yet to hand for the 2013/14 race season but as soon as they are available they will be published in a later International Press Release for all to see. IF IT IS INFORMATION YOU REQUIRE, THEN THIS IS CERTAINLY THE PIGEON RACE TO ENTER IN THE FUTURE. The month of January 2013 showed a total of 104,316 visitors logged onto the web site. However, this month of January 2014 we had a total of 172,574 visitors logged onto the web site, a massive increase of 68,258 visitors. During the race day on 25th January 2014 there was an average of over 2,000 visitors to the web site every minute at its peak. This just goes to show the great interest that this international pigeon race attracts from fanciers literally all over the world.

***VIDEOSTREAM SYSTEM*** Over the past two years this state of the art system of being able to watch live the Training Races, Car Hot Spot Races and the Final Race from literally thousands of miles away, sitting in the comfort of your own home has become more and more popular with fanciers all over the world. Last year the race day showed a total of 1,456 viewers. However, the actual race day this year we had our highest ever number of spectators, which exceeded over 2,335 at one time, an increase in 879 people. Such is the power of this wonderful new global technology. My personal thanks go to the guys that sit there and make this service available to all of us. WELL DONE TO ALL OF YOU, YOU REALLY ARE STARS.

Somebody else that needs a “SPECIAL MENTION” is BEN (THE BLOG) WILLIAMS who takes hundreds of photographs over the weekend and puts them on THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE WEB SITE plus TWITTER and FACEBOOK for thousands of people to see. HIS SERVICE IS SECOND TO NONE AND IS GREATLY APPRECIATED BY OUR GREAT TEAM.

I would just like to notify fanciers all over the world that my weekly International Press Releases and Newsletters will all be published in our two weekly United Kingdom based pigeon magazines, namely “The British Homing World” and “The Racing Pigeon” and also this information is used in many pigeon magazines all over the world. Information is also be sent out to numerous other Web Sites:- www.regencylofts.comwww.iprr.co.ukwww.elimarpigeons.comwww.pigeonportal.comwww.cyberpigeon.co.ukwww.pigeonbasics.comwww.pigeoncare.nlwww.starpigeons.com www.fancierchat.com and www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theLoftReport.com

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

***THE ALLOCATION OF THE OFFICIAL “FINAL RACE” PRIZE MONEY FOR THE 19th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE*** It has now been confirmed by Air Sport Internationale that the prize money for the 19th SAMDPR will be as follows:- 1st US$150,000 (£93,750), 2nd US$100,000 £62,500,3rd US$75,000 (£46,875), 4th US$50,000 (£31,250), 5th US$40,000 (£25,000), 6th US$25,000 (£15,625), 7th US$17,500 (£10,938), 8th US$15,000 (£9,375), 9th US$12,500 (£7,813), 10th US$10,000 (£6,250), 11th/15th US$7,500 (£4,688 each), 16th/20th US$5,000 (£3,125 each), 21st/30th US$4,000 (£2,500 each), 31st/40th US3,500 (£2,188 each), 41st/50th US$3,000 (£1,875 each), 51st/70th US$2,000 (£1,250 each), 71st/100th US$1,750 (£1,094 each), 101st/150th US$1,500 (£938 each), 151st/200th US$1,250 (£782 each), 201st/300th US$1,100 (£688 each). These £ figures are based on US$1.60 to the Pounds Sterling. The total Prize Money in The 19th SAMDPR Final Race has now been increased to a staggering US$1,002500 Million American Dollars (£626,563 Pounds Sterling). This is the first time that the prize fund in the Final Race has exceeded US$1 Million American Dollars. Plus of course all the other competitions and prize money that can be won during the 2014/15 race series, this total is now in excess of US$1,600000 Million American Dollars (£1,000000 Million Pounds Sterling). More new competitions will be introduced for the 2014/15 race series and these will be stated in a later International Press Release when all the information is available. It should also now be mentioned that there will no longer be a US$25 (£16) Registration Fee per team of 3 pigeons, that has been in existence from day one and this has now been scrapped. However, the Entry Fee for a team of 3 pigeons will now be increased to US$1,100 (£688) compared with US$1,025 (£641) in past years. It should be mentioned that this is the first increase in 19 years and this is of course due to many increases in staff wages, transport costs, fuel, web site, pigeon feed and administration costs. Also fanciers should take into consideration that for this extra US$75 (£47) increase, the total prize money has increased and also some of this extra US$75 (£47) will actually be going into a brand new competition which will be open to all entrants to compete in.

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 took place in Linbro Park, Sandton, 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 Address:- reglofts@aol.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Regency Lofts Web Site Address:- www.regencylofts.com The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site Address:- www.samdpr.com or www.scmdpr.com