The Namibia Horse Racing Association (NHRA) will host the sixth edition of the MTC Winter Cup in Gobabis on Saturday.
The association’s newly elected president, Mannes Hendricks during a press conference in the capital on Tuesday announced that 86 horses from various racing clubs will compete in the event. He said no other racing clubs from outside the country will participate in this year’s edition.
“We do not have horses that have entered from Botswana as we had a problem with laws, permits, and the African horse sickness in the neighbouring country. The vaccination was not easily available in South Africa as there is a shortfall there. That is why we will not have horses from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries,” Hendricks said.
He also said there will be 17 races on the day of the event, with two main categories, namely the imported horses and Nambred categories.
“We are expecting a massive crowd as the football season concluded and nine of the races will be for imported horses and eight for the Nambred horses,” he noted.
The main attraction will be the A division 1 000 metre race where Imperial Ruby, French Leave, Starlile and Visigoth will face off.
A total of N.dollars 200 000 is up for grabs, of which 10 per cent is set aside for the jockeys.
On his part, MTC spokesperson Fikameni Mathias noted that they had numerous discussions with the organisers about the welfare of the jockeys, who are a priority, and the availability of paramedics at the event.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency