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Tuesday, 5 April 2016 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Quite possibly the richest race to ever run in Sri Lanka, the stakes are high for the Royal Turf Clubs April Horse Racing Festival. The April racing festival includes the prestigious Kunigal Stud Million championship race, the biggest of the season that has an incredible purse distribution of Rs. 1.75 million.
This is a significantly higher purse size than any race ever run in Sri Lanka and is one of the many sponsored high stakes cup to be run through the Royal Turf Club. The April Horse Racing Festival runs on 10, 16, 23 and 30 April.
The Royal Turf Club recently concluded their inaugural premier cup in which eight races were successfully run in front of a captivated full house at the newly-renovated racecourse with owners, jockeys and trainers all paid their well-earned stakes. This fun filled day out for the whole family had thrilling races, beautiful catwalk fashion from some of the best known names in Sri Lankan design and fantastic musical acts which will also form a large part of the April festival.
The 8 Trophies and Stakes, including the Dashmesh Stud Cup
Class 2 Handicap 1600M of Rs. 482,500, Sporting Times Cup
Class 3 and Class 4 Stakes 1200M of Rs. 387,500, the Blackpool Hotel Cup
Class 5 Handicap 1200M of SLRs 150,000 and many more will be hotly contested by many veteran horse owners at the 10 April races. These owners include, Isira Dassanayaaka, Gamini Jayaratne, Hasanga Jayaratne, Rienzie and Purni Edwards, J.R. Irugal Bandara, Ajantha De Soyza and Anura Delgoda.
The revival of the Nuwara Eliya racecourse and the sport of horse racing has generated much-needed employment both directly and indirectly for over 200 people and one of the short-term objectives the RTC hopes to undertake, in line with international standards, is a thorough exercise of recruiting and training people who will be involved in the sport.
These positions will include jockeys, officials, groomers, administrators and horse trainers. They hope to, at the end of this training period, have individuals who are equipped with skill-sets that can be gainfully utilised in seeking employment in the industry both locally and abroad.
By ensuring that the glorious sport of racing is returned to the prestigious position it has long held and is elevated to the highest standard of competition the RTC will also undertake a drive to attract foreign investment, especially via global partnerships among racing enthusiasts bringing both much needed foreign investment and tourism to the country.
The Royal Turf Club is passionate about and dedicated to ensuring and upholding ethics through maintaining a zero tolerance policy towards drug and animal abuse. Headed by renowned CEO Wayne Wood and a dedicated committee of consummate professionals, The Royal Turf Club was formed to ensure that any cruel and inhuman treatment of horses is brought to a complete halt. The Royal Turf Club races with the horses’ welfare in mind.
