Having generated a proverbial heatwave in August 2018, when the 12th edition of the Guyana Cup horse racing meet was held at the Rising Sun Turf Club on the West Coast of Berbice, the Management Committee of the Jumbo Jet Racing Stables will this year be staging the 13th edition – the 2019 edition — of this highly anticipated Guyana Cup on August 18 at the same venue.
Vera’s Finally, piloted by champion jockey Clifton Ross, easily claimed the prize for the feature race in 2018
Twenty million dollars in cash and prizes will be up for grabs, as compared to 2018, when 15 million had been up for the taking.
Many fans will be excited to see the return of defending champion Vera’s Finally, who had won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Piloted by Jockey Colin Ross in 2018, Vera’s Finally had won the 1600m race about four lengths ahead of TNT of the Nand Persaud Stables.
The winner of this year’s feature event — the C Class and Lower race, to be run over one mile — will pocket $2 million, while the winner of the race category for three-year-old Guyana-bred horses would walk away with $1 million.
A total of 8 races have been confirmed for the card. Some of the horses slated to be featured in this 2019 event are: Just Call Me Bass, Crown the King (Jamaica), Doublin Fashion (USA), Chameli (Jamaica), Safara (Jamaica), Southern Express (T&T), Silver & Things (T&T), Sitarr (T&T), Kentucky Woman (T&T), Super Easy (T&T), and She’s a Princess.
In the G3 and Lower race, the winner will walk away with $400,000; while in the L3 and Lower race, which will be open to non-winners from Trinidad & Tobago and two-year-old Guyana-bred horses, the winners would receive $350,000 and $300,000 respectively.
The J3 and Lower race will be contested over a distance of seven furlongs for a prize of $300,000; while the L Class race for colts and the L Class races for fillies and for mares would each carry a cash prize of $250,000.
Thus far, four international artistes have been confirmed to entertain at the event; they are Gage, Munga, Kristo and K.I. Entry to the horse race and concert will be permitted for a fare of only $2,000.
