There were plenty of thrills at the 2023 Summer Cup. Picture: Michel Bega / The Citizen
The love-in between racing operators and bookmakers was upped a notch this week with an announcement that the Betway Summer Cup had become Africa’s richest horse race – with a record-breaking stake of R6-million.
Betway, partnering with 4Racing and Joburg’s premier race for a third successive year, has bunged in R1-million more than in 2023 – which itself saw a doubling of the prize from the previous year.
The 2024 Cup takes place at Turffontein Racecourse on 30 November.
The latest boost for racing comes in the wake of former champion trainer Mike de Kock lavishing praise on Betway and its rivals recently.
“With another excellent racing season having come and gone, it would be remiss of me not to thank the betting companies that generously contribute to the South African racing industry,” wrote De Kock on his website.
The trainer specifically named Betway, which sponsors his stable along with many other racing ventures; Hollywoodbets, which has bailed out the bankrupt racing establishments of Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and World Sports Betting, which has ploughed many millions into race purses.
The sponsorship had brought “vibrant energy and fresh flair” to the game.
De Kock added: “What the betting companies have done at grass roots level is amazing. The lives of grooms have been changed, improved by the extra funds made available to them. They take even more pride in the work they do, and in their appearances on television. Their families have also benefitted, every cent being helpful in tough economic times for everyone.”
Such friendly words are a far cry from the angry interactions, just a few years ago, between bookmakers and the racing establishment – led by the now dissolved Phumelela. The latter launched numerous costly court actions, driven by the idea that bookies were cadging a free ride on the back of operators.
Then Phumelela collapsed and the betting companies rode to racing’s rescue. True irony.
4Racing and Betway announced a special “prize” of R20,000 for each of the grooms of horses in the Summer Cup field.
“Grooms are the lifeblood of the sport; their dedication for and love of horses, knows no bounds, so we want to celebrate them and thank them for their continued hard work in the sport” said Jonathan Blumberg of Betway Africa.
Fundi Sithebe, CEO of 4Racing, said the big stakes boosts would attract interest from owners and trainers from around the country.
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