With the first leg of the inaugural Triple Crown Series set for Sunday, an exciting time for horse racing ahead.
In three days, at the Rising Sun Turf Club, in excess of 70 thoroughbreds will begin their journey in the historic series which includes meets on April 1 at Port Mourant and April 29 back at Rising Sun. The three, ground breaking contests will be among the most prestigious events both in horse racing and local sports as a whole, with a combined purse of $20 million.
Winning the Triple Crown is a rare feat in the more developed horse racing world as only 12 horses have ever taken all three legs in the same year since the Kentucky Derby was inaugurated in 1875. A local steed will be in rarified air if it manages to pull off the herculean task.
The 2018 Guyana Triple Crown will span over a month and according to organizer, Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr., many incentives including the grand prize of a car will be for the taking for lucky turfites. Mohamed Jr. who is the pioneer for the Triple Crown Series in Guyana also told Stabroek Sport yesterday that leveling of the track and upgrading of other facilities at the venue have since been undertaken by the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee of which he runs.
On the racing days, the C Class, 1200m event with a bounty of $1M will be the main attraction.
The seven-race card will also include events for trotters in the F Class and lower, Three-Year old Guyana Bred, H and Lower, J/K and lower, K Class non earners and L and lower.
Mohamed noted that horses will not be promoted nor demoted for any events in their classes until after the final fixture. “This is to give the horses a chance to win the bonus and to be crowned the Triple Crown champion in their respective classes.”
As an added bonus, horses winning all three events will receive a bonus but a pre-entry fee of $5000 is a prerequisite to receive the extra incentive.
The Triple Crown series originated in the UK in the 1850’s. Countries like Japan, Hungary, Denmark, the USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium and even Jamaica have since subscribed to that format. The USA’s Triple Crown which consists of the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and the Belmont Stakes is widely viewed as the most popular.
