It’s the Cape’s biggest day of racing and with the eyes of the world on the Southern Suburbs venue, the house full signs have gone up as Kenilworth is set to host the 2022 R2 million Gr1 Cape Town Met presented by World Sports Betting.
Cape Racing’s Donovan Everitt told the Sporting Post on Thursday that it is all systems go for Saturday, with the ‘house full’ signs up.
Donovan Everitt – all ready for the big day
“We are very happy to announce that all of our facilities are full and at capacity in terms of the covid regulations. The interest in the event has been very encouraging and we believe it bodes well for the future,” said Everitt.
Cape Racing recently announced Met day premium partners including Distell (Pongracz), Peninsula Beverages (Schweppes), Heineken, as well as the City of Cape Town who have come on board as a supporting partner. In a social media giveaway by Schweppes of 4 tickets to the Met, almost 50 000 engagements were registered.
The Sporting Post is aware that there have also been calls to open up sporting events in view of the current low covid infections rates.
Recent media reports indicate that the department of health is open to engagements with relevant sporting stakeholders in a move that may pave the way for the number of vaccinated spectators allowed at stadiums to be increased.
Currently, regulations regarding Covid-19 precautions only permit 2000 spectators at sporting venues, but some sporting bodies like the Premier Soccer League (PSL) have not taken up the allowance because it does not make financial sense for football clubs.
While any changes will come too late for the 2022 Met, the organisers will be looking to rekindle some of the atmosphere and vibe of bygone days – albeit with nothing like the tens of thousands of visitors of yesteryear.
There are some exciting innovations to be introduced by 4Racing.TV on the big day, including providing viewers with rare insights into the Stipes Boardroom and the Jockeys Weighing Room.
Western Cape Stipendiary Board Chief Ernie Rodrigues told the Sporting Post that permission had been granted to the broadcaster, but that the situation would be closely monitored as the jockey room is an out of bounds restricted area on racedays.
There are 26 jockeys riding on the day, including a female in leading KZN apprentice, Rachel Venniker, who will be experiencing her first Met day.
When questioned on some of the challenges he and his team faced on the day, the veteran Stipe said that things ‘had to run like clockwork’ – but that there are naturally variables.
The Racing Cops! Cecil Van As and Anold Hyde in the parade ring at Kenilworth
“We have to race on time and have extra Stipes on duty as the Hong Kong Jockey Club require live reporting for purposes of the World Pools on the loading at the start, for example. We also have 12 races carded, which is a longer day than usual. But we are geared to manage the controllable items and we are looking to play our part in putting on a world-class show,” he added.
The first race starts at 12h00.
