South African Million Dollar Race 2013 Final ... - McLaughlin Lofts

By Frank McLaughlin
South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race
On Saturday morning Feb 2 nd I was making coffee when the first three pigeons arrived. After not
sleeping most of the night and then missing the winner, I was not off to a great start. When my six year
old son came down stairs a few moments later and asked, “Daddy, did we win the Million Dollar Race?”
then proceeded to burst into tears after I told him no, I knew for certain this day was not going in my
direction.
Feb 2 nd was the final race in South Africa for the Million Dollar Race series. That day did go in the right
direction for many of my American and a few Canadian friends. This season was quite entertaining to
say the least. When you enter the Million Dollar Race you are entertained for over three months with
the possibility of winning fame and fortune. The Million Dollar Race is like vacationing in Las Vegas. You
may leave Vegas a very rich person but no matter what you had a blast in that city. The race provides
great entertainment.
Many of us have one goal in the sport and that is to win the Million Dollar. Mike Ganus said to me last
year “we may not always have this race so we must go for it while we can”. The more I thought about
what he said the more it made sense. I so hope the South African Million Dollar Race is around for the
rest of my pigeon racing career but who knows what future years may bring. Enter this race now while
you have the opportunity.
Not too many years ago the Barcelona International was the premier race in our sport. That has
changed. No longer is the Barcelona the race, the South African Million Dollar is the premier race in our
sport. Everyone is watching and everyone knows who won. Filip Norman, the Belgian, said it best after
he won the Million Dollar. To paraphrase Filip… ‘Winning this race was better than winning two
Barcelona Internationals’.
Of course there are the naysayers and with anything in life you are not going to please all of the people
all of the time. If you want an even playing field and a totally transparent race this is the one. No race
can compare to the security measures taken at the Million Dollar. No race compares to the prizes, the
accounts, the website and the organizers. Just look at the pooling for example. Every pooled pigeon
and every payout is visible to all, in real time. There is no way to track this but I bet the Million Dollar
Race has caused more senior fanciers to learn to use the computer than all the other events in our sport
combined.
When fanciers complain about losses one must keep in mind this race receives pigeons from 30
countries, some trained out hundreds of miles, some 30 days old, some seven months old, some with no
flights and some with no tails. Remember there are no replacement pigeons like the one lofts here in
the US. When you look at the logistics involved with receiving, quarantining, settling and training, the
success of this Million Dollar team is astounding. Like my good friend Joe Nemelka recently exclaimed,
“look at the percentages”. If a US one loft race started training 580 pigeons, goes through an incredibly

The day after the final race on Sunday Feb 3 rd the top 100 were auctioned. There were some real steals
in this group and as usual the top pigeons brought very high prices. Only a handful of US fanciers placed
bids and Mike Ganus managed to bid live by cell phone through one of his South African friends. Mike
Ganus bought the Race Winner and 2 nd place. The under bidder on the winner was the breeder, Henk
Jurriens the manager of Eijerkamp Racing Pigeons. The winning pigeon had quite the racing record and
was bred from the best of Eijerkamp’s lines. The 2 nd place pigeon was also bought by Mike Ganus and
this pigeon was the Knock Out Winner. Like the winner, 2 nd Place had an amazing racing record. When
the 3 rd place pigeon was being sold Mike was yelling “Go!, Go!” and his friend Jurie hesitated, thinking
he heard no. The gavel fell and Ganus lost the 3 rd place pigeon. A year from now it will be the race
winner remembered.
Mike Ganus also bought the very best pigeons to race in the Million Dollar Race 2012. Mike has to be
very excited to move two years worth of Million Dollar Race superstars to Granger, Indiana.
This season is now a wrap and we must all get ready for the 2013-2014 race season. I will send out my
schedule for exporting or you can check my website for the four export dates starting May 20th. We
have a large group of US and Canadian fanciers traveling over to South Africa in 2014. Please consider
joining us for the greatest pigeon race and pigeon event in our sport. You will not be disappointed.
I hope everyone enjoyed this past Million Dollar Race season as much as I did. If you would like the new
brochure and are considering entering please call or email. See my website for more information at
www.McLaughlinLofts.com
Frank McLaughlin
McLaughlin Lofts
Frank@McLaughlinLofts.com
(781)820-8327