Derby winner to pocket N$20 000

By Michael Uugwanga

THE winner of the inaugural edition of the Namibia Horse Racing Association (NHRA) MTC  Horse Derby  Racing slated for November 28 in Okahandja will walk away with N$20 000 in prize money.

This was said by NHRA president Marthinus de Waal in an interview with Confidente Sport who said the event will feature 19 categories.

MTC and NHRA last week signed a three-year sponsorship agreement amounting to N$500 000 annually, which will accumulate to N$1.5 million for the duration of the contract.

Horse racing is one of the country’s fastest growing sports, and is mostly popular in the Omaheke region especially in Gobabis and its surrounding areas, Rehoboth in the Hardap region, and Okahandja and Okakarara in Otjozondjupa region.

“We are going to spend N0 000 at the derby.

There will be 19 different categories with the winner in each category taking home N$15 000, N$10 000 depending to the race, but the biggest prize on the day is N$20 000. “We need other big companies to come on board as it will enable us to grow the sport and we really thank MTC for their sponsorship as it will have a big positive impact on our sport.

We want to professionalise the sport,” said De Waal.

De Waal also said that his association is already working on a plan to popularise horse racing just like in neighbouring South Africa, which has professional jockeys that make thousands of rands, while in other parts of the world, jockeys make millions of dollars annually.

“We want to make our horse racing event similar to that of South Africa that is well organised. After the event in Okahandja, we will be having other two events, on the weekend of 1 December and weekend of 26 December we plan to host some races”.