PHUMELELA MEDIA RELEASE
SUBJECT: Work Riders’ Challenge race meeting rescheduled
DATE: Sunday 23 November
RELEASED BY: Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited, the Racing Association and the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust
Phumelela has rescheduled the work riders’ race meeting abandoned last Thursday as a result of rain to Saturday 20 December on the turf course at the Vaal.
The programme will comprise five Maiden Plates and three merit-rated handicaps and will add substance to what should be a bumper weekend’s racing.
The Cape Guineas race meeting at Kenilworth will take place on the same afternoon with a Greyville fixture that night and a meeting on Turffontein’s Inside Track the next day.
The work riders’ race meeting on 20 December now replaces the lost meeting as the first of the three racedays in the inaugural Work Riders’ Challenge introduced by Phumelela, the Racing Association and the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust from this season.
The Work Riders’ Challenge, which carries R50 000 in prize money for the riders and a Racing Association Highveld Feature Seasons award, now comprises the following race meetings:
Vaal Turf Saturday 20 December 2008
Turffontein Standside Sunday 8 February 2009
Turffontein Standside Monday 27 April 2009
Work riders will score points in each race at the three meetings as follows: FIRST - 10 points; SECOND - 7 points; THIRD - 5 points; FOURTH - 3 points.
The work rider accumulating the most points at each of the three meetings will win R5 000.
In addition, there are grand prizes for the three riders who score the most points in total across the three meetings: CHALLENGE WINNER - R20 000; RUNNER-UP - R10 000; THIRD - R5 000.
A special award will be made to the Work Riders’ Challenge winner at the 2008-09 Racing Association Highveld Feature Seasons Awards ceremony.
There will also be R20 000 for the four trainers whose runners accumulate the most points across the three meetings. This is to recognise and reward the trainers who provide the most support to the work riders’ racedays.
The leading trainer over the three Challenge meetings will win R10 000 with R5 000 for the runner-up, R3 000 for third and R2 000 for fourth.
“The Work Riders’ Challenge is an excellent innovation that will give the work riders further recognition,” said breeder and owner Mary Slack, chairperson of the Work Riders’ Training Programme and a trustee of the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust.
The Work Riders’ Training Programme is an ultra-successful empowerment initiative that was established by the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust, which also manages the programme.
Courses for grooms and work riders from Randjesfontein, Turffontein and the Vaal training centres, as well as private establishments, are held annually. These courses are managed by former champion jockey James Maree and are well supported by trainers with candidates enthusiastic to enhance their riding skills.
Graduates of the basic course can ride in races down the straight, while those who pass the advanced course are eligible to participate in races round the turn.
Phumelela facilitates trial gallops after Highveld race meetings to allow advanced work riders to familiarise themselves with the racetracks and to qualify to ride in races round a turn, and in conjunction with the Racing Association, stages races for work riders regularly at Turffontein and Vaal.
These work riders’ races are divided into a series of three four-month segments within the racing season with awards for the leading riders in each of the three segments. In addition, the top rider across the season wins the Equus Work Riders Award (Gauteng).
The programme has been a huge success since its introduction. The standard of work riding across the board has been significantly enhanced and graduates are able to command higher wages as a result of raising their skills from grooms’ level to that of qualified work rider. In addition, work riders who ride in races retain the standard rider’s percentage of prize money earned by their mounts.
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