One of horseracing’s most strategically important front-line stakeholder sectors, Grooms will be acknowledged and rewarded to the tune of over R1,3 million (excluding stakes incentives) during the forthcoming bumper Cape Summer Of Champions Season, which has been extended to eight festival racemeeting in a celebration of close on five months of non-stop high-quality horseracing in the Cape.
The unsung heroes and strategic back-room men are instrumental in playing a vital role in the delivery of a world-class product and it is the Grooms’ hard work in the engine room that will not go unnoticed and unrewarded following the announcement by Cape Racing earlier this week of increased incentives from a variety of sponsors for every raceday, commencing with the return to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth for the running of the Gr3 Cape Classic on Saturday 2 November.
The groundbreaking Grooms reward initiative, which was launched by Hollywoodbets in KZN in 2019, has commendably seen other regions following suit countrywide, and Cape Racing will proudly take the rewards and incentives paid to Grooms to the next level during the forthcoming Cape Summer Of Champions, which was recently extended to 16 March, for the inaugural Cape Racing Sales Festival – an unprecedented celebration of horseracing and thoroughbred sales.
The R5 million Big Cap, a brand new ‘slot’ race fashioned on the highly successful The Everest concept, will headline the festival raceday and in an exciting first for racing in the Cape, the Groom of each Big Cap runner will receive R12 500, irrespective of their charge’s finishing position, while the Groom of the winning horse will receive R30 000.
The amount paid to winning Grooms on general race days, and which is funded by Hollywoodbets and Cape Racing, will double to R2000 with effect from Saturday 2 November, when the Gr3 Cape Classic features on the return to racing at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
The increased basic win incentive will remain in effect until the Cape Summer Of Champions curtain call on 16 March 2025.
Leading South African breeders Maine Chance Farms will also be acknowledging Grooms via their Best Turned Out Horse Campaign to be run on all of the festival race days, bar the L’Ormarins King’s Plate day. There will be a prize of R3 000 paid to the Groom of the horse adjudged to be best turned out.
On the L’Ormarins King’s Plate day, which is the first Grade 1 racemeeting of 2025, Drakenstein Stud will replicate the Best Turned Out Horse incentive and offer a prize of R3 000 to the Groom of the horse adjudged to be best turned out in each of the races run on that day.
Successful international owners and breeders, Khaya Stables will again proudly showcase their popular Star Grooms Campaign, which rewards the top 5 Grooms in all 30 graded and listed races with cash incentives over the Cape Feature season.
The Khaya Stables Star Grooms Campaign will run from Saturday 23 November to Saturday 16 March 2025, with the winner receiving a trophy and R5000, with R2000, R1500, R1000 and R500 respectively being paid down to fifth place finisher.
The World Sports Betting Cape Town Met day on 25 January is a social and racing highlight of the summer, and on this day big-race sponsors World Sports Betting will reward the winning Groom of all races not falling under the Khaya Stables Star Grooms umbrella, with R5 000.
On the World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas day at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on 7 December 2024, the headline sponsors will also reward the winning Groom of all races not falling under the Khaya Stables Star Grooms umbrella, with an amount of R2 000.
There is plenty of exciting and rewarding racing ahead for all stakeholders as the Cape Summer Of Champions Season approaches. We cannot wait!
For any information on the Cape Summer Of Champions Season, visit www.caperacing.co.za. Images supplied by Cape Racing.
