Organisers of the Lotlhakane East horse race have promised an exciting and improved event scheduled for Tutudu Farms Saturday.

In an interview, Lotlhakane East Horse Race Society’s public relations officer, Mosimaneotsile Kgopolo said this year’s event would be bigger and better.

“There will be three categories, thorough, cross and tswana breeds, with prizes ranging from P700 to P2 250 for gold to bronze winners,” he said.

He said in the past, the sport was popular in Gangwaketse but eventually died, therefore they intended to revive the race which he said had countless benefits to locals.

He said the festive season was time for families to be together and bond and the event was therefore the right platform for parents and children to do so.

“These days people spend most of their time online, so the event is the right time for families to be together,” he said.

Kgopolo said the event was also an opportunity to keep the youth away from different social ills, such as alcohol and substance abuse which usually led to different crimes.

“Our riders would be youth aged between 10 and 15 years and the idea is to groom them to become professional riders who would maybe in future make a living out of the sport. There is a lot in the value chain of horse race that could be used to fight unemployment, such as saddle manufacturers, riders, feed manufacturers and many others that we believe Batswana could take advantage of,” he said.

He said in the past few years, they travelled long distances to partake or to watch races, therefore the idea was also to cut such long distances, adding the event also promoted sport tourism in the area.

“Tourism is very limited in this area, we therefore believe this event will attract tourists to Gangwaketse and we will be also showcasing the standard of horses we keep in the area,” he said.

He further highlighted that the race was also going to boost the local economy, as traders would be providing different services and products.

Meanwhile, he said the event was first held in December last year and was now held three times a year, during Easter, Independence and Christmas holidays.

He assured Batswana that a first aid team would be on the ground in case of any accidents as well as the security personnel to protect spectators and their properties. BOPA