Horses travelling in padded containers – a first for Sri Lanka

“When it comes to the wellbeing and welfare of the Equine, the Royal Turf Club, Nuwara Eliya has set the bar high enough. But the quest to raise it higher will be our constant endeavour,” said President RTC, Suranjith Premadasa.

With this end in view, professional expertise and supervision coupled with a stringent and strict adherence to the Rules, ensured that the recently concluded Festival of Racing went off smoothly and without a hitch. 

Top notch Track Maintenance and a hawk eye vigilance which included testing horses for banned and prohibited substances in world accredited Labs went a long way in presenting the Royal Turf Club Nuwara Eliya in the right perspective. RTC’s most recent innovation and step in the direction of uplifting standards both on and off the race track are the luxury, padded containers that the horses are currently being transported in to Sri Lanka.

“We have been receiving a number of horses from India and in an effort to give them a comfortable and travel free journey across the sea, we are proud to introduce our newly fabricated Horse Containers, designed with the comfort and safety of the horse in transit. They have special cushioning and padded interiors coupled with a hardened, plastered flooring and adequate ventilation. All of this together will ensure that our horses travel in First Class comfort,” said Premadasa. “There has been a respite in the off racing season in our march towards bettering the existing facilities. The groundwork for a state-of-the-art Equine Hospital equipped with the latest appliances has already begun. Our Stabling facilities are getting a  facelift and plans are afoot to design two storey stables modelled on designs sourced from Hong Kong, while work on the new Sand Track has already begun and once in place will provide a wonderful alternative to Trainers to train and school their horses,” said RTC CEO Wayne Wood.

Saturday 6 August is the day you will be able to see these very horses as they are put through their paces in a specially arranged Breeze Up on the Race Track before they are produced in the Auction Ring for what promises to be the very first Breeze Up Auction ever held in Sri Lanka. 

“Sixteen Horses will come up for Auction and we look forward to new individual owners, partnerships and even syndicates being registered with the RTC,” said Wood.