• KwaZulu Royals challenge Cape Stingers for series title and Night Rider jockey prizes at Hollywoodbets Greyville this Friday evening.
• Support grows for revolutionary GTH team riding concept; series value rises to R15mn after two action-packed seasons.
• KZN racing benefits from four extra race meetings and R3.5mn in stakes during 2022 season.
• Final races to be broadcast live on DStv’s Action channel 209, YouTube and Facebook, or listen on East Coast Radio

HOLLYWOODBETS GREYVILLE, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, AUGUST 2022: TWENTY jockeys, two reserve riders and 16 fit and unfathomably-fast thoroughbred horses riding for the Cape Stingers and KwaZulu Royals are rearing to go ahead of the Global Team Horse Racing series (GTH) finale, taking place at Hollywoodbets Greyville racecourse this Friday evening, September 2, 2022.

GTH is a revolutionary concept and new style of team-based horse racing in South Africa. Its arrival has been hailed a victory for the sport, injecting a significant R10mn into local racing with Friday’s fourth and final race meeting still to go. A successful trial event in 2021 generated an extra R5mn, bringing the value of the new series to R15mn.

There are three teams competing for their share of R3.5mn in stakes this year - the Cape Stingers, KwaZulu Royals, and Gauteng Gijimaz.

On Friday, the Cape Stingers will ride against the KwaZulu Royals to determine the 2022 overall season winner. Plus, the series’ top jockey will ride away with a bonus R30 000 as the overall Night Rider prize. The runner-up will earn a bonus R20 000, and the third-place jockey will ride away with R10 000.

GTH has also made sure that stable hands are rewarded, offering R1 000 cash for every race win throughout the series.

Similar to a T20 cricket series’, GTH uses a points-based scoring system. The team with the most points by the end of the series wins.

Gold Circle has contributed R500 000 to the pot and R3mn in stakes has come from GTH. The series’ four race meetings have been added to the official KZN Gold Circle racing calendar.

GTH Marketing Director, Angus Campbell, said: “This is a huge boost for the (KZN) region, as other regions have seen a decrease in the number of race meetings earlier in the year.”

The payout for each leg of the series is also higher than the current industry average. According to Campbell, during the period that the GTH live races took place, the ‘normal’ stakes amount per race was around R100 000. However, the GTH races paid R10 000 more with a value of R110 000. Furthermore, GTH has increased the stakes for the final eight races during the final to R115 000.

Stephen Marshall, Gold Circle Event and Marketing Executive, was impressed with the series so far. “It’s a massive injection into the industry, especially at a time when it is recovering from Covid-19. It is a brand new format and challenges the traditional way of doing things with horse racing, much like 7s Rugby and T20 cricket.”

Marshall said the team format and points system had made it easy for newcomers to follow along and enjoy the sport. “The reality of the sport is that we are suffering from an ageing, diminishing audience. The only way to survive long term is to attract a new audience and to grow that audience in the future.”

GTH has also paid jockeys double their normal fee to ride in the 2022 live series as an added incentive to take part.

The GTH series will continue to be broadcast live on DSTV’s Action channel 209, and on GTH’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. East Coast Radio listeners can also tune in to hear the final races called live.

Gold Circle Racing Manager, Raf Sheik, was optimistic that the series could return to Durban next year and confident about the potential for other GTH team racing events in other provinces. He said: “We were thrilled to host them (GTH) in Durban. It’s a new innovation, it’s fast-paced and attracts a new audience. There are also more people who benefitted who are our stakeholders and that’s the owners, the jockeys, the trainers, grooms and staff.”

“All three teams have put on a spectacular show throughout the series. We hope to have plenty of Durban families and racing fans come out and join us or tune in at home for the sensational series finale,” concluded Campbell.

Tickets are available online at TIXSA or at the gate. General access is R100 and children under 14 go free. Gates open at 17h00 and the race action starts at 18h00, finishing by 20h30.

For more information about GTH and future events, visit https://www.gthracing.co.za.