01 Aug 2022

Horse racing has potential to add to tourism diversification.

Botswana Tourism Organisation’s (BTO) Ghanzi-based tourism development manager, Thokomelo Phuthego, said the horse racing sport could play a significant role in the lives of people who keep and use horses.

In an interview after the Ghanzi show horse racing event, Phuthego said the sport could make a noticeable contribution to the district’s economy.

He said BTO board sponsored the Ghanzi show horse racing event as part of sport tourism development and efforts to diversify the tourism product.

Phuthego said they wanted horse racing to grow and value chains such as horse breeding, jockey training, horse maintaining, horse show and public auctions to be exploited.

He said horse racing would attract tourists to the region, adding BTO would encourage others to sponsor the horse racing sport to ensure proper infrastructure such as horse tracks.

Phuthego said the Botswana Tourism Board was in consultation with the district leadership and horse owners to come up with ways to develop horse racing to make it reputable.

He said efforts are in place to model the small stock and livestock concept, so that there could be shows and public auctions for horses.

Phuthego said BTO ‘sees this as an opportunity to revive the tourism industry in this part of the country and contribute to the bigger picture of divarication and increase tourism activities in the region’.

Meanwhile, the winner of the 2200-metre Ghanzi show horse race (thoroughbred) grand race, Kabo Medupi said injecting more money into horse racing would go a long way in improving the welfare of jockeys.

Medupi said horse racing should not be looked at just as a sport, but as an employment creation avenue, which can create decent jobs, adding that financial support was needed for that to happen.

Medupi went home P18 000 richer, as well as a non-floating trophy, while the winner of  the 1600-metre went away with P8 000, the 1400-metres winner got P5 000 and the 1200-metre and 800-metre winners got P4000 each.

In the Tswana breed, the winner of the 1200-metre race got P2400, while the winner of 800-metre race got P2200. ENDS