The large number of horses needing to race after the lockdown with only 12 currently permitted to run, has created a huge demand for places in fields across the country.
In a press release published on Wednesday, Kenilworth Racing advise that the Western Cape have a huge number of two-year-olds which are ready to run, but many of them are unfortunately being eliminated at final declaration stage.
Bernard Fayd’herbe and African Night Sky (Pic – Wayne Marks)
There have been requests, particularly from smaller trainers who are at a disadvantage from a numbers’ perspective, to assist in this regard and after numerous options were considered, Kenilworth Racing Board Director, Jonathan Snaith, came up with a solution.
“There are five race meetings still scheduled for the Western Cape this month and Jonathan has managed to get a group of companies and individuals to sponsor four of these race meetings, with Kenilworth Racing Co-chairman and Director, Robert Bloomberg, having already put his hand up in sponsoring a meeting in his personal capacity, thereby facilitating an extra race at each meeting,” explained Racing Executive Patrick Davis.
“Eight races have been programmed per meeting, but we will now be able to add an extra Maiden Juvenile Plate to each meeting. This will effectively provide an additional 60 runs for the juveniles this month.”
Kuda Holdings will sponsor the race meeting on 9 June, the Coup de Grace Syndicate and Justin Snaith on 16 June, Jonsson Workwear on 21 June, Robert Bloomberg on 27 June and EasyEquities the meeting on 29 June.
“These are very testing times for most businesses in South Africa and racing is no exception. The generosity from all these sponsors to assist racing’s stakeholders under the circumstances is a wonderful gesture,” said Davis.
The Sporting Post asked KR Chairman Robert Bloomberg about his decision to step in as a sponsor of a day that appropriately includes the Gr3 Legal Eagles Stakes – formerly the Winter Classic – which has been won by some of our greatest horses over the years, including champion Winter Solstice (coincidentally raced in parthership by Bloomberg), Pocket Power and African Night Sky.
KR Chairman Robert Bloomberg sponsors the Legal Eagle Stakes
“You can only lead from the front in life, so hopefully this small gesture will be of some assistance to owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms and acts as a catalyst for others to follow suit and even more so.”
He went on to say that the suggestion that there had been an over subscription of declarations is a ‘massive understatement’.
“We are already racing for lesser stakes in the WC due to being out-of-season, so the sponsorships will enable us to add an additional juvenile race to the program and will hopefully assist in alleviating the backlog amongst the 2yo’s,” he concluded.
- If there are any other individuals or organisations who might also be interested in supporting this initiative into July, please contact Faeeza Heuwel, Chief Operating Officer for Kenilworth Racing, at 021 700 1614 or email [email protected]
