Teams competing in the new Global Team Horse Racing night series (GTH) met at Durban’s Hollywoodbets Greyville racecourse last Friday evening to demonstrate a thrilling new style of thoroughbred horse racing in front of hundreds of local Durban families and new horse racing fans.
The team jockeys also put their first scores on the series’ leaderboard. After night one of the series, the KwaZulu Royals took the lead with a total of 452 points compared to the Gauteng Gijimaz’s total of 448.
Teams and their followers will make their way back to the track this coming Friday for night two of the four-week series, where the Cape Stingers take on the Gauteng Gijimaz.
GTH has a similar format to T20 cricket in that teams will accrue points for every race in the series. The team with the most points wins.
Race meetings are being held under spotlights on consecutive Friday nights throughout August. There is plenty of track-side entertainment for families. The series comes to a dramatic finish on Friday, September 2, 2022.
The Teams
The Cape Stingers, KwaZulu Royals and Gauteng Gijimaz are competing for more than R3.5-million in prize money. Jockeys are gunning for the Night Rider prize at the finale, where they can cash in R30,000, R20,000 and R10,000 for first, second and third place respectively.
This past Friday, August 5, jockeys for the KwaZulu Royals rode against the Gauteng Gijimaz. On August 12, the Cape Stingers will meet the Gauteng Gijimaz. On August 19, it is KZN against the Cape. The two teams with the most points after the three weeks will ride in the final. The winning team will also be the proud owner of a 40cm Africanised horse bust Floating Trophy, which was hand-carved by Josphat Phiri, a Durban artist.
GTH Marketing Director, Angus Campbell, described the first night as a breakthrough and hopes to see even more families at the race track this coming Friday when the Cape Stingers take on the Gauteng Gijimaz.
Local celebrities were at the series opener and Social Pioneers also hosted their guests, which Campbell said had helped to grow the series’ following.
GTH has managed to attract some of the racing industry’s top talent.
The Cape Stingers is being led by team captain Mark Khan, a well-known SA Champion Jockey. Muzi Yeni, who has won numerous Grade 1 races, is captain of the KwaZulu Royals. Gavin Lerena has the team reins belonging to the Gauteng Gijimaz. Lerena was SA’s Champion Jockey in 2014/15.
Three winning female trainers have been appointed to manage the teams. The managers are also responsible for choosing which horses to feature in each of the races.
Michelle Rix will lead the Cape Stingers, while Wendy Whitehead and Candice Dawson will manage the KwaZulu Royals and Gauteng Gijimaz respectively.
The GTH race programme has been condensed into 2.5 action-packed hours. Races start at 18h00 and finish by 20h30 each week. Gates open at Hollywoodbets Greyville at 17h00 every Friday afternoon.
For more information about GTH, visit https://www.gthracing.co.za.
- Media release by Global Team Horseracing on Monday 8 August 2022
