The dynamics of the Cape Racing Sales landscape continues to evolve at speed with the news that following unprecedented interest from vendors across South Africa, the recently announced innovation of the CRS March Premier Sale has now grown to a broad-based and diverse two day sale.
In an industry showing exponential growth in the post-covid boom, Cape Racing Sales recently introduced the Cape Racing Sales Festival, a high value racemeeting offering high stakes racing from R6,5 million up to R10 million over the initial three years, and which dovetails the brand new CRS March Premier Sale, creating a racing and sales festival like no other in South Africa.
While the festival effectively extends the bumper Cape Summer Season Of Champions, creating an eighth festival racemeeting to book-end close on five months of high-quality horseracing, the addition of an extra day of action in the sales arena is set to accommodate the high numbers of entries, and will mean a restructuring of the CRS programme, with the Winter Sale falling away.
“We have the Summer Sale, a high-end boutique auction for forward and well-grown yearlings in January, and had anticipated holding the inaugural CRS March Premier Sale on Saturday 15 March, with the big stakes raceday on Sunday 16 March. The market has, however, spoken and a solid flow of entries has meant that we will have sufficient support from breeders to now hold the March Sale over two days, commencing Friday 14 March. Given the rigours of the local climate, the logistics for breeders in terms of, inter alia, personnel absence, and given the national focus of attention on the SA Champions Season on the East Coast in June, we have dropped the Winter Sale from the roster. Vendors now have an opportunity to prep their youngsters for a slot on either of the January Summer Sale or the March Premier Sale, or hold them over to our October Breeze-Up & Unbroken 2yo Sale in 2025. This also broadens the horizon for some potentially exciting pin-hooking opportunities for the astute buyer,” added Cape Racing Executive: Racing & Bloodstock Justin Vermaak.
The new-look festival creates a terrific opportunity for prospective buyers to acquire a CRS graduate which will potentially be able to participate in a R3 million race as a juvenile, and then have a R5 million race available every season.
The reality is that having R10 million on offer across four individual races is unlike any sales race incentive structure encompassing all ages and sexes seen in South Africa.
The R5 million CRS Big Cap, which is programmed as a handicap with conditions, is the exciting new ‘slot’ race which will headline the Festival race day.
The Big Cap was modelled on the Everest concept introduced in Australia, and the concept has been featured successfully previously in South Africa as the ‘Gold Rush’. The inaugural running of the R5 million CRS Big Cap in 2025 will be contested over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and is open to all CRS sales graduates.
The R3 million CRS Slipper will be run over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in 2026. This means that next year’s CRS graduates will run for the highest stake on offer for a juvenile race in South Africa.
The CRS Slipper will be open to all graduates of CRS auctions in 2025, not just the January auction, as was the case before.
The R1 million CRS Sprint & R1 million CRS Mile will be run for three-year-olds only. Thus graduates of CRS auctions in 2025 can run for R3 million in the Slipper as juveniles, and then return to take their chance in the CRS Sprint or CRS Mile at three!
A release detailing the full programme for the inaugural three-day Cape Racing Sales Festival will be published soon – watch this space!
Please visit www.caperacingsales.co.za
For any sales related information, please contact:
Tel: +27 (0) 21 700 1600
