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Horse racing fans in
Singapore will be able to watch and bet on South African races from next
Wednesday.
Phumelela Gold Enterprises (PGE) and the Singapore Turf Club (SNTC) have
announced that ‘live’ telecast of South African races to Singapore will
begin on Sept 13 and they will be screened ‘live’ along with Hong Kong races
on Wednesdays.
SNTC will take the “live” telecast of races from different racing centres in
South Africa, starting from next Wednesday. The first race will start at
6:35pm.
From October most South African race meetings on Wednesdays will take place
in KwaZulu-Natal at one of three racecourses – Greyville, Clairwood and
Scottsville. Greyville plays host annually to South Africa’s most famous
race, the Vodacom Durban July.
Each “live” telecast will start between 5 and 6pm. The South African races
will be telecast on Horseracing Channel 88 while races from Hong Kong Jockey
Club will be telecast on Channel 89. Customers are to mark “KL” for South
African races and “OTH” for Hong Kong races.
Brian Meh, Chairman of Phumelela Gold Enterprises, said: “South African
races have gained popularity on the international stage. Betting turnovers
on South African race meetings screened in Australia are already 70% of
those achieved by Hong Kong racing, which was introduced there a year
before. We are delighted to take this opportunity to share our races with
audiences in Singapore”.
Added Yu Pang Fey, President and Chief Executive of Singapore Turf Club, “As
part of a bilateral exchange, Singapore racing is now enjoyed by racing
enthusiasts alongside UK races in South Africa. I am happy to note that
Singapore races “outsell” races from UK by some 25%. I am sure Singapore
fans will enjoy the racing from this added venue. They are quite familiar
with racing from South Africa. South African trainer Mike de Kock, who
captured this year’s QE II Cup in Hong Kong with South African challenger
IRRIDESCENE, is no stranger to Singapore, having entered his horse, FALSTAFF
(renamed OUR FALSTAFF under Kranji-based trainer Patrick Shaw), in the
Singapore Airlines International Cup 2006. His other entries for the
prestigious Cup were RIGHT APPROACH and EXCALIBUR in 2005 and SURVEYOR in
2004”.
South African horses like CRIMSOM PLACE and PERFECT PROMISE have also won
major races in the USA and Australia respectively in recent years, and
popular jockeys such as Douglas Whyte have dominated the Hong Kong jockey’s
log for over a decade.
In Singapore, South Africans have also made their mark in Singapore racing.
Patrick Shaw has established himself as one of Singapore’s leading trainers
since relocating to Kranji a few years ago, while jockey Barend Vorster has
ridden many winners during his time in Singapore.  |
