Racecourse tours open to the public at Kenilworth and Durbanville

For both established horseracing fans as well as those new to the sport, a day at the races can undoubtedly be a fun, social and exhilarating day out. To add to this experience, Western Cape racing is now offering interested racegoers the unique opportunity to tour the racecourse and get a first-hand behind the scenes look at all the different elements that make horseracing the thrilling sport that it is.

Racecourse tours are offered at most race meeting. At both Kenilworth and Durbanville Racecourses, a tour will begin at the information kiosk just before the running of race 3 on each specific race day (timing will depend on scheduled race times on each particular day). Patrons need to please pre-book for tours before the running of Race 2.

Racecourse tours, which are hosted by professionals within the industry, will enable patrons to go to the parade ring, commentator’s box, visit the all-important stipes boardroom, weighing room and perhaps most enthralling is the visit to the starting stalls to watch the adrenaline-fueled start of a horserace.

Few people appreciate all that goes into staging a successful horserace, a feat even more impressive when one realises that horseracing in South Africa takes place every single day of the year except for Christmas Day.

The parade ring for example is a multipurpose area where the horses are taken for their pre-race parade. Horses are walked anti-clockwise to allow race goers to assess the horse’s condition. This is usually done between eight and ten minutes before a race. There are also a number of race meeting officials at the edge of the parade ring at each race, and each official is looking at specific things. The judges, for example, will be looking at and memorising the jockey silks so they can identify the horses as they cross the finish line. It is the judges who declare the official result of a race.

The stipendiary stewards will be looking to see that the horse has the correct equipment such as horse shoes, tongue ties and blinkers and that the correct jockey is getting onto the correct horse.

Racecourse tour leaders will impart valuable pointers and tips to interested patrons, such as the history of the racecourse, what attributes to look for to spot a winning horse in the parade ring , what happens in the weighing room as well as how the stipendiary stewards ensure that there is fair play in every race.

Patrons who participate in a racecourse tour will never look at horseracing in the same way again! It is a sport of adrenaline, beauty and so much more….

Racecourse tours are offered to interested members of the public free of charge. For more information about upcoming horseracing events in the Western Cape, go to www.itsarush.co.za. For more information about racecourse tours please call (021) 700 1600 Kenilworth and Durbanville Racecourse.