All Bets On For Durban July

With this year’s Vodacom Durban July set for Saturday, there will be a major adjustment to the 124-year-old horseracing event – no spectators are allowed.

Conforming to the strict Covid-19 lockdown regulations, Africa’s richest racing event will only see core racing staff, horse owners and television crew present at the Greyville Racecourse in Durban.

However, with all that prize money in the pot, Robert Garner, the General Manager for Media and Marketing at Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited, said all bets are still on.

Garner said the Durban July is traditionally the biggest betting day on the continent and, even with the unusual changes to the tradition, the racing event will still be huge this year.

“In common with other major race days globally in the last few months, this year’s Vodacom Durban July will be unique in that, for the first time in its long history, it will take place behind closed doors.

“Only racehorse owners, private-box holders and their guests, plus trainers, jockeys, grooms and other essential staff will be able to attend the race meeting at Greyville Racecourse in Durban and all Covid-19 protocols will be strictly applied,” Garner told The Citizen.

The same will rules and COVID-19 protocols will apply to the World Sports Betting July in Jozi race day at Turffontein, where eight races will be run with the action from Greyville shown live on TV.

As far as betting option are concerned, Garner says there are a number of choices for punters.

“Many TAB off-course betting shops are operational again and tens of millions of rand will be wagered on the day with TAB though its national retail network as well as its online and telephone betting platforms. Obviously, on-course TAB betting turnover will be minimal compared to normal.”

He pointed out that TAB has added spice to the day with massive carryovers on the Greyville Pick 6 (pick the winners of races 4 to 9) and the Quartet (pick the first four to finish in the correct order) on the Vodacom Durban July.

“The Pick 6 pool is set to total some R15 million, as should the Quartet pool on the July,” said Garner, adding that anybody wishing to open an account with TAB can do so at www.tabonlinwe.co.za and deposit money, and instantly bet virtually.

Because South African racing is sold to a variety of countries on a daily basis, Garner says that Saturday’s races at Greyville and Turffontein will also be shown live and bet on in countries like Singapore and a variety of European countries.

“Similarly, the best international racing in the world is shown daily in TAB outlets and on channel 239 of DStv’s exclusive horse racing channel.”

How To Get Your Betting Game On:

For those looking try their luck at snagging some of the massive takings, there are various ways to participate in Saturday’s Durban July.

Many TAB outlets are operational again and bets can be placed there.

For those into online betting, you can open a traditional telephone betting deposit account with TAB by calling 0861 444 822.

The full Greyville race meeting will be shown live on Tellytrack and TAB is also making a live stream of the action available free to all. It’s called: July At Home and can be found on Facebook or at www.tellytrack.com

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