Khaya Stables Extends Invaluable Partnership With Cape Racing For 2023 Season

Khaya Stables will be continuing their generous three-pronged sponsorship through the Cape Summer Festival of Racing, commencing with the first of the Graded races at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on 22 October 2022.

 

Khaya Stables’ Star Grooms initiative will acknowledge the unsung heroes of the sport with the Top Five grooms in all Graded and Listed races to receive cash incentives: 1st place: R5000; 2nd place: R2000; 3rd place: R1500; 4th place: R1000; 5th place: R500. The winning groom of each big race will also be awarded a trophy.

 

Grooms play an integral role in caring for thoroughbreds during their racing careers, so it is only fitting that their contribution to the sport is properly recognised.

 

Their labours are carried out far away from the limelight, yet they are essential workers.

 

A groom usually will take responsibility for three thoroughbred horses by feeding and watering, providing regular grooming of the horse, conducting physical inspections to detect soundness problems, plus treating smaller physical problems based on veterinary advice.

 

Grooms clock in early – commencing their routines before five o clock in the morning and their day of physical toil can extend into the evening hours. A normal working schedule involves being at stables six days a week, including weekends, with additional duties on race days.

 

Because most of this work is done behind the scenes, grooms rarely receive the public acknowledgement they deserve.

 

The Khaya Stables Star Grooms campaign was conceived to place them in the spotlight and reward them for their tireless dedication.

 

Khaya Stables have also renewed, indeed boosted, their sponsorship of the Graded Diadem Stakes – a prestigious 1200m sprint event at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth catering for South Africa’s fastest speed merchants. The total stakes for the 2023 edition will be R600 000. Hollywoodbets Kenilworth – a widely expansive, galloping track set in a beautiful location, is the oldest racecourse in South Africa and has AAA Grade Heritage status.

 

The Jockeys and Work Riders Challenge is a pioneering collaboration that has been exceptionally well-received since inception. It will again be staged on Cape Derby Day 2023 as the final race on the program, though with a slight tweak. This time, Jockeys and Work Riders will pair up in teams drawn out of a hat to rachet up the level of competition.

 

Khaya Stables benevolent support is perfectly opportune as Cape Racing is presently going through an exciting revival with R350 million rand allocated to uplifting the industry, and R35 million to be spent on venue upgrades.

 

The RaceCape powered by Hollywoodbets program has pumped in R15 million to reward owners/trainers for running their horses, which will increase fields sizes and boost betting turnovers – key to making the game sustainable. Together with stakes/prize money being significantly ramped up, these incentives have already piqued the interest of visiting trainers and 300 additional horses are expected to swell the local population, adding to the drama and spectacle.