South Africa is a sports loving nation because South Africans are extremely passionate about their sports particularly soccer, cricket, rugby and horse racing. The southern African country is widely known as the rainbow nation because there are people from all races and from various cultural backgrounds, and all these people are unified by their love of sports. This article seeks to list and explain about the popular horse races in South Africa.
Horse racing is an extremely popular sport in South Africa and there is a lot of varying reasons why people love this sport, some love it for the excitement it brings, some also love it for the bling (the Durban July is one of the most glamourous sports event in the world), punters love this sport because it provides them with an opportunity to make some money. South Africa boasts some of the finest racecourses in the world which include Turffontein Racecourse, Vaal Racecourse, Kenilworth Racecourse and several others which we will talk about in this article.
Sun Met
The Sun Met is one of the most popular Horse race which is held anually in the Mother City of Cape Town. The race is quite popular as it attracts more than 50,000 spectators and this proves just how popular the race is. The Sun Met is annually held at the Kenilworth Race Track and it is held every February of the year. The first Sun Met race was conducted It was first run in the year 1883 and it is one of the oldest races in South Africa.
Durban July
The Durban July is one of the most glamourous horse races not just in South Africa but in the whole world and it attracts people from all corners of the world. As the name suggests, the Durban July is usually held on the first Saturday of July every year. The race, which is held in Durban at the Greyville racecourse was launched in the year 1897 and has been a permanent feature every year. The Durban July is attended by world-class athletes, celebrities, socialites and what makes it so glamorous is the fashion on display on that particular day.
Summer Cup
The Summer Cup is a popular race which is held in Johannesburg and was launched over 120 years ago in 1897. The race is held at Turffontein and thousands of people go to the Turffontein track to experience the excitement of horse racing. Being so popular means that there are always great betting picks being shared. The Summer Cup is quite a huge race as it is a R2 Million Race. The is a lot of excitement on the race day and people will be also be entertained by a half-time show. The Summer Cup is held annually in November.
Charity Mile
Charity Mile is an annual highlight on the South African horse racing calendar. This is a race where a total of 16 celebrities stand to win prize money for their chosen charity as they will each be represented by a horse in the race. The race is held at the Turffontein race course in Gauteng. The Charity Mile, which is formerly known as the November Handicap, was launched in 1963. The popular race takes place in November with its traditional date being the first Saturday of the month of November.
Grand Heritage
The Grand Heritage Day is a very popular race which is held anually in Vaal. The race has a total of five feature races headlined by the R750,000 Grand Heritage over 1475m down the Vaal straight track. The Vaal sand track was opened in 2001 and once a population of sand horses had been established.
Gauteng Guineas
The Gauteng Guineas held in Joburg at the Turffontein and is is the first major race of the year in Johannesburg. Gauteng Guineas is held as a part of the Triple Crown and It is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which also features the SA Classic and SA Derby.