First woman jockey to ride in Hollywoodbets Durban July
The young rider confidently blazes a trail for women in the male-dominated horse-racing industry.
RACHEL Venniker makes history as the first female rider in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
“Every jockey’s dream is to ride in the July and to have a chance to win. But to be the first woman to ever participate – it really is an incredible opportunity, so I’m very excited. I feel so blessed that I can actually do it,” says the talented rider.
Venniker, a 20-year-old Summerveld resident, has ridden horses since the age of four.
The Hollywoodbets Durban July will be Venniker’s second Grade 1 race. However, the young rider is familiar with the turf track. She’ll be riding Red Saxon, for trainer Joe Soma, on 2 July 2022.
ALSO READ: Grand Prix puts horses and riders to the test
Venniker is a second-year apprentice at the South African Jockey Academy, which is the only institution in the country offering an academic and practical apprentice programme to aspirant professional jockeys. She is used to competing against men as she is the only female apprentice jockey at the academy.
The life of an apprentice jockey is a busy one. Venniker begins riding track work from 05:00 through to midday, working 25 to 30 horses in a morning. Although it is physically demanding, she is also a regular road runner, which is a vital part of maintaining her fitness and getting race-ready.
The 2022 Hollywoodbets Durban July will be one for the history books due to Venniker’s participation and because this is Hollywoodbets’ first sponsorship of the 126th running of the iconic Durban horse race. Also, the race now carries a record stake of R5m.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
