Guyana’s horse racing calendar for 2024 kicks off with an eight-race card on New Year’s Day Monday at Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) racecourse in Berbice.

Racing officials are pursuing continued growth of the sport in the country coming off a robust 2023 campaign.

This was confirmed by Nasrudeen Mohamed Jnr, head of Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), the country’s leading horse racing promoters.

“This year was a tremendous season for the sport. It generated a renewed confidence in the sport. This was underlined by the record number of horses imported into the country,” Mohamed Jnr said.

“It was the first time horses were imported from Brazil to compete in the country. Over 60 horses were imported from Trinidad and the USA to improve the racing and breeding stock. This demonstrates that horsemen are looking at the future by purchasing horses in-utero (in foal). I wish to thank those horsemen for their foresight, and confidence in the sport’s future," he added.

The feature event on the card is billed as a battle of the sexes rematch between Sunday’s winner Spankhurst (gelding) and runner-up Bossalina (mare), and Derby winners Red Ruby and Firecracker.

Meanwhile, the Guyana-bred two-year-olds will be competing on the card that is written to recognise and promote the Guyana-bred horses, who continue to keep the sport alive.

Iconic names in Caribbean cricket Rohan Kanhai and Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira are to receive honorary Doctorates from the University of Guyana (UG) in Berbice later this month.

Kanhai, the 87-year-old former world batting star and West Indies captain and Perreira, 84, will receive their awards at the UG Tain Campus on November 18.

Kanhai, who was part of the West Indian team that won the inaugural 1975 Cricket World Cup, scored 6,227 runs in Test cricket at an average of 47.53, with his highest score of 256 coming against India in a Test at Calcutta.

Perreira has over 50 years of service to sports broadcasting. He was on commentary for 151 Test matches and was also a popular voice on radio with Boxing, Football, Hockey, Table Tennis, Basketball, Netball and Motor Racing.

Perreira, also a former President of the Guyana Football and Basketball Associations, moved to St Lucia to establish and head the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) sports desk. He did the job for 12 years.