Over $50M up for grabs as 17th Guyana Cup launched

…concert to feature Popcaan, Machel Montano, Ravi B

An extended race card and a blockbuster international entertainment line-up are just some of the highlights for this year’s anticipated staging of the 17th Guyana Cup, powered by Banks Beer.
A perk of the corresponding date and anniversary, this year’s event is being dubbed the Gold edition.
Billed for Sunday, August 17, at the Rising Sun Turf Club, West Coast Berbice (WCB), this year’s event will see 11 races, beginning at 11:00 hrs sharp.
Chairman of the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr, gave some insight into the new races and the increased prize purse during Tuesday morning’s launch at Banks DIH’s Thirst Park.

“This year we have two new races that we recorded, which will be the juvenile race that’s open to imported horses. Due to the large influx of racehorses in the country, we’ve seen a lot of younger horses that came in from the US. So, we had to design a race to suit the younger horses; that’ll be a two-year-old race. We also have a three-year-old, which is the derby that’s open to Brazilian and West Indian-bred horses,” Mohamed Jr informed.
The JJTRC Chairman went on to reveal, “Guyana Cup, we’ve increased the purse overall for the entire day; it’s now over $50M Guyana dollars. The feature race, we have a $20M purse, which will see ten million dollars first prize in the Guyana Cup.”
Once again, the beverage giant Banks Beer will be the title sponsor of the Guyana Cup, as Banks Beer Brand Manager Brian Choo-Hen spoke to the cultural significance the Guyana Cup has now attained.
“Banks Beer is extremely proud and excited to collaborate with the organisers for the Guyana Cup and Concert. This year marks the 17th edition of the Guyana Cup, and we at Banks and specifically the Banks Beer brand have enjoyed every moment of this journey. This event is now part of Guyana’s cultural fabric,” Choo-Hen shared.
This year’s entertainment to follow the feature race will see three international acts, as told by Operations Manager Andre Rochford.
Rochford revealed, “This year marks the 17th running of the Guyana Cup, which, luckily for our benefit, fell on the 17th of August, so it’s actually our golden year. We have an exciting display of horse race and entertainment that ends with a huge stage show with Popcaan and his full band, Machel Montano and his full band, as well as Ravi B and his full band.”
“It was quite a challenge to acquire the services of these entertainers because they are heavily booked worldwide. They actually sell stadiums out all over UK and Europe, and to have Popcaan here after 6 years was definitely a task for management,” Rochford later added.
Also confirmed is defending champion Olympic Kremlin’s participation in this year’s Guyana Cup feature race.
Mohamed Jr responded to enquiries stating, “Of course, Olympic Kremlin will be back. He has an automatic entry into the Guyana Cup. With the large influx of horses, we will be doing a points system that will be released this week for horses to be able to run in the feature event.”
More attractions to the Guyana Cup event include a ‘Banks Village’, road shows and the assurance of better parking provisions this time around.