A NEW era will commence on Saturday, October 1, when the Vaal Racecourse welcomes the Grand Heritage to its shores.
Welcoming a full field of 28 horses plus two reserves to run over the 1 475m and sponsored by World Sports Betting is set to attract all pundits on race day.
The inaugural running of Grand Heritage will take place for the first time at Vaal Racecourse and will return with the historical run of 28 horses taking their stance against each other. A race of this calibre has not been presented for ages and will be a first in many decades and according to the race organisers the race is here to stay.
The final field has been unveiled for the inaugural running of the Grand Heritage, and has a prize money of R750 000. The lion’s share of the prize will be the R406 250 for the winner, who will also enjoy bragging rights at the end of the likely cavalry charge.
The runner-up will take home R130 000 with R65 000 for third and R32 500 and R16 250 for the fourth and fifth-placed runners respectively.
The remaining cash in the pot will be paid to those horses finishing from sixth to 15th with each runner getting R10 000. These monies will only be paid if a full field of 28 runners plus two reserves are carded.
The other two races where 28 runners are a possibility will both be run over 1 200m and will ensure that the Grand Jackpot will be one of the bets to consider on the day.
“This is a new venture which came about at a workshop held a few months ago when trying to find an alternative to the now defunct Emerald Cup and Supreme Cup,” said Clyde Basel, Phumelela racing executive.
“We felt the need to launch something different to capture the attention of the racing public and it seems to have been well received. We’re hoping that we will be able to achieve 28 horse fields as that will help us pay out the stake money down to 15th for the Grand Heritage.”
“Since it’s our first event there is an element of trial and error but we are hoping to learn going forward.”
Entertainment for the entire family includes a variety of food stalls, a beer garden and the appearance of Vin Deysel, a popular radio personality and DJ. Big screen rugby between the Springboks and Australia which starts at 17:00 will also be available.
As an incentive to punters, the TAB win and place pool will be boosted by R60 000 and six places will be paid out in the Grand Heritage. A quartet carryover of R250 000 is estimated to swell to R1.3-million for the main event.
There will also be a number of other carryovers into the day’s proceedings, including in the Grand Jackpot, but punters are advised to watch the press for details closer to race day.
Gates open at 10:00. Ample parking available and entry is free.
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