Horse racing in South Africa is alive and kicking with a fully packed line up of races coming up in May, and the rest of the year.
You can bet on horse racing today with the odds on all of these upcoming events at Betway. 2022 have already seen some of South Africa’s most prestigious races taking place with Jet Dark under jockey Smanga Khumalo coming out as the winner at L'Ormarins Queens Plate which took place in Kenilworth, Cape Town in January earlier this year.
This was the second consecutive win for the pair at the Queen’s plate making it a Royal Double and also making them firm favourites for upcoming races in 2022. February saw Africa’s richest race the Cape Town Met formerly the Sun Met taking place at Kenilworth with a purse of 5 million Rand up for grabs.
Kommetdieding and jockey Gavin Lerena came out as the winner in one of biggest and most glamorous races in South Africa. The competition could not be tighter between the two horses as Kommetdieding came second in the Queen’s Plate and Dark Jet came second in the Cape Town Met.
The racing action continues in June with the Golden Horse Sprint taking place this Saturday at the Scottsville Race course in Pietermaritzburg. This event takes place on the 4th of June and entry to the race is free on the day. The race takes place over grade A race takes place over 1200 meters and is one of the oldest sprint races in South Africa.
One of the most anticipated racing events in South Africa’s horse racing calendar has to the iconic Durban July. This annual 2200 meter thoroughbred horse race is held at the Greyville Racecourse and takes place every year on the first weekend of July which means that this year’s race will fall on the second of July and the purse for this race sitting at a cool 5 million Rand.
The winner of last year’s Durban July was none other than Kommetdieding who will also be participating in this year’s race against Dark Jet. This year’s event will welcome 55 000 visitors this year with the dress theme of “show me the honey “ and six of South Africa’s top fashion designers have been invited to exhibit their garments inspired by the theme. The Durban July is more than just a race it is a social event with many of the attendees dressing up and partying till the wee hours of the night.