🎙️ The Direct Line Podcast - Episode 15 | Adam Marcus

Description

In Episode 15 of the Direct Line Podcast, we sit down with 10bet ambassador and horse racing trainer, Adam Marcus There was a time when Adam Marcus was the youngest licenced trainer in South Africa. That was when he started out with six horses in March 2012, a 24-year-old stepping out of the shadow casted by his celebrated dad, Basil. He’s no longer the new kid on the Koeberg Road block, but it’s fair to also say that in the ensuing 13 years Marcus, now 36, has carved out his own name in this tough industry, albeit one he was born into before spending his formative years in Hong Kong. The stats tell the story of a trainer who is considered “a small yard” in the context of Cape Racing, but one which can hold its own against any of the heavyweights in the region, and South Africa for that matter. He stands on 238 career wins, of which 21 are features, built on the back of being his Dad’s assistant trainer in Singapore for two years, a stint in Dubai with Herman Brown while Jay Peg and Desert Links were there and also spending time in Hong Kong (10 years) and then England (four years). “I do keep a close eye on the stats,” Marcus says as he settles down after another busy morning’s work at his Milnerton yard. As we signed off February and with five months of the season remaining, he had saddled 15 winners from 10 different horses. That compared well with a pre-and-post Covid-19 tally return of 20 (2019/20) and 15, 15, 13 and 21 in subsequent seasons. And at the beginning of March his win rate was 15.3 percent, the highest in the Western Cape. His yard now houses 33 horses – and he’s looking to grow to around 50. “I would suggest that some of the success is because I’m a perfectionist and am meticulous when it comes to attention to detail. My goal is to bring out the best of every horse in the yard, and it feeds into the narrative of a racing team. Each horse is treated with care and professionalism.” Loyalty, which is a two-way street, is something which stands out when listening to Marcus talk about his