14% increase of total stakes to R33 360 000 for Highveld Winter program

4Racing Media Release
Johannesburg, 11 April 2023


4Racing is pleased to announce a 14% increase of total stakes equal to R33 360 000 for this year’s Highveld Winter Program, a considerable increase from last year’s stakes of R29 053 000.

Stakes for this period have been strengthened by R4 307 000 for the 405 races from the beginning of May to the end of September on the Highveld Winter Program this season, for the benefit of the owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms who are key industry participants at all levels.

The increase in stakes was made possible by a budgeted increase by 4Racing of 8% in stakes for the season, plus an amount carried forward from lost meetings and races to date this season.

The stakes increase has focused on beefing up 4Racing’s most common Handicap racing types, with stakes for the 26 races for horses with a Merit Rating of 72 going from R55 000 to R70 000, for the 26 races with horses with a Merit Rating of 76 going from R55 000 to R75 000, the 33 races with a Merit Rating of 80 going from R60 000 to R80 000 and for horses with a Merit Racing of 88 going from R80 000 to R85 000.

For Fillies and Mares in the Handicaps division with a Merit Rating of 68 stakes have increased from R55 000 to R65 000, for horses with a Merit Rating of 72 stakes have increased from R55 000 to R70 000, and for the 23 races for horses with a Merit Rating of 76 stakes have increased considerably from R55 000 to R75 000 and from R70 000 to R80 000 for horses with a Merit Rating of 84.

For Juveniles races, stakes have gone for Maidens only from R70 000 to R80 000 and from R80 000 to R90 000 for Winners and Maidens.

“We are happy to be able to provide this stakes increase and going forward will look to bolster the quality of racing during the Highveld Winter season. We owe it to the stakeholders who have been patient and passionate as we at 4Racing continue to work with the industry to revive and sustain the sport of horseracing. We continue to engage potential sponsors to provide competitive stakes to ensure the sport of horseracing remains viable for all stakeholders and attractive to punters,” said 4Racing CEO, Fundi Sithebe.

Highveld Winter Program Stakes 2022 vs 2023

Month 2022 2023
May 6 415 000 7 100 000
June 6 565 000 7 210 000
July 6 053 000 6 747 500
August 4 450 000 6 530 000
Sep 5 570 000 5 667 500
TOTAL 29 053 000 33 360 000

The brochure pages for May, June and July will be released shortly, while those for August and September have been held back while the fixtures committee reworks the fixtures from 1 August 2023 to 31 December 2023.

I must say I have been enjoying these extra cheques for grooms and owners recently. 😉
👏👏

Why don’t the authorities insist trainers deck their grooms out in some nice clothing. Maybe a uniform of some type with the trainers logo on the breast. If the trainers don’t want to them the authorities should dig into their own purse. Promoting SA racing should start with the people that put the hard work in and that’s the grooms