Horse racing fans, get ready! 2024 will be ushered in with a bang at the Rising Sun Turf Club on New Year’s Day with the staging of the SINOTRUK Sprint Classic.
The fixture is shaping up to be the biggest social event on the sporting calendar in the country on New Year’s Day.
Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), the country’s leading horse racing promoter, will get proceedings underway with an ultra-competitive eight-race card, including two phenomenal revenge ones.
This card is a preview of bigger things to come next year, according to JJTRC’s head of racing, Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr.
The feature event on the card is billed as a battle of the sexes rematch between Boxing Day’s winner Spankhurst (gelding) and runner-up Bossalina (mare), and Derby winners Red Ruby and Firecracker.
Further, the Guyana-bred two-year-olds will be competing on the card that is written to recognise and promote the Guyana-bred horses, who continue to keep the sport alive.
Speaking to this daily about the surge in the horse racing population and the day’s activities, Mohamed Jr. said, “This year was a tremendous season for the sport. It generated renewed confidence in the sport. This was underlined by the record number of horses imported into the country.”
He explained, “It was the first time horses were imported from Brazil to compete in the country. Over 60 horses were imported from Trinidad and the USA to improve the racing and breeding stock. This demonstrates that horsemen are looking at the future by purchasing horses in utero (in foal). I wish to thank those horsemen for their foresight and confidence in the sport’s future.”
Quizzed about how the sport will handle the increasing racing population, he declared, “I have been reliably informed that the government has recognised it also. They are working feverishly to uplift the sport to where it should be in Guyana and the Caribbean.
The horse racing fraternity thanks the government for recognising the contribution and employment the sport is providing for the country.”
Mohamed Jr. concluded by stating, “I would like to wish everyone a very prosperous and peaceful 2024. Be safe, and come out to the racetrack for a day of relaxation and entertainment.”
