IT has been dubbed one of the biggest horseracing events to ever grace the shores of Guyana, at the launching ceremony, which took place last Wednesday. With the first race being one of two feature events, certainly the place to be at 12:00hrs today is the Norman Singh Memorial Turf Club, Bel Air, Number 6 Village, West Coast Berbice.
The event is the first-ever Digicel Classic, in which over 100 horses will battle it out for $10M in cash and prizes in 10 events and what better way to whet the appetite of the hundreds of horse racing turfites than to have a feature race first up.
Horses of the calibre of Marathon Man, Wada Luck, Night Crescendo, Miss Oriente, Face the Music, Ambush Baby and crowd favourite The Message will gallop down the refurbished track, covering a distance of 1600 metres with the winner guaranteed a first prize of $1.2M.
According to the Rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) under which today’s event will be run, seven horses must face the starter if a fourth prize is to be paid, while five horses must be at the starting gate, if a third prize is to be paid.
And with the second-, third- and fourth-place prizes having an attractive $600 000, $300 000 and $150 000 respectively, horse owners and trainers will be looking to cash in on the first race of the day’s programme which is being sponsored exclusively by Digicel.
The F and Lower Class horses will face the starter for the second event which will run for 1200 metres and carries a first prize of $500 000, with $250 000, $125 000 and $63 000 being paid to the other top three finishers.
Three-Years-Old Open West Indies-bred horses will do battle in race number three, the second feature event of the day, over a distance of 1600 metres and which has a first prize of $600 000.
Better than Gold, Sabrina Joy, Spanish Love, Big Impact, Northern Driver and Face the Fire among other horses, will enter the starting gates for this one and should be looking to carry away the first-place purse, leaving the others to contend for the other three – $300 000, $150 000 and $75 000 each.
Three-Years-Old Open Guyana-bred horses will do battle next, over a distance of 1400 metres for a first prize of $400 000, while the G1 and Lower horses will also run the fifth race over the same distance, but for $50 000 more.
West Indies-bred two-year-old horses, along with I3 horses who have won one race in their career and those who have not won any, will battle it out over 1100 metres for $450 000 and $170 000 respectively, while two-year-old Guyana-bred horses will gallop for 1 000 metres for a first prize of $400 000.
The final two races of the day are for I-1 and Lower and Unclassified Division 1, 2 and 3 horses over a distance of 1200 metres, with a first prize of $180 000 and $150 000 respectively, bringing an end to an enthralling day of races.
With Paul Delph being out of action due to a broken leg suffered earlier in the year, jockeys of the calibre of Daniel Floris, Krishna and Kumar Singh, Colin Ross along with Jamaica’s Andron Findlay and two of his Jamaican counterparts, are expected to battle for the champion jockey prize.
Such a prize, along with the top trainer and stable awards, is being donated with the kind compliments of Ramesh Sunich Managing Director of Trophy Stall in Bourda Market and City Mall.
Digicel’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gregory Deen, Marketing Manager Jacqueline James, Public Relations Manager Shonnet Moore and other staff members are expected to assist with the distribution of prizes to the respective winners.
Having concluded their inaugural nationwide Inter-Secondary School football tournament last Sunday, Digicel, who thrives under the slogan ‘Bigger, Better Network’, is wasting no opportunity in proving to telecommunication users their total commitment to sports in Guyana with their sole sponsorship of this event.