LAHORE, Sept 2: An ambitious schedule of the all year round race meetings for the Lahore Racing Season 2005-06 with a grand stake-money package worth over rupees 45 million, for horses winning first three positions, was announced by the Lahore Race Club (LRC) on Friday.
The over nine month-long programme spreading over 35 Lahore Winter Meetings studded with attractive cup events each day begins on Sunday.
This will end in June next year to be completed in two-phases and is to be followed by half a dozen Summer Meetings, subject to weather conditions.
The draft prospectus issued by the LRC today elaborated all events in details, terms and conditions and the procedure of entries and issuance of handicaps.
A minimum of six and maximum eight or nine races will be held each racing day, subject to receipt of entries.
The LRC has not specifically declared the amount of cash-prizes for the races and kept the option open depending upon the available resources, the patronage received from donors and sponsorship besides LRC funds.
But it will certainly be a better package than the previous year when rupees 45 million stake-money was distributed among the owners of horses winning first three slots.
During two previous seasons the LRC received a record sponsorship with the result the stake-money offered each year touched a record high figure as compared to the amount offered in earlier seasons.
It has increased twenty times high during the last decade.
The Lahore Winter Meeting programme opens with eight cup events, seven of them named after national war heroes and the recipients of highest gallantry award, the Nishan-i-Haider.
The seven heroes to be honoured are: Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed, Major Muhammad Akram Shaheed, Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed, Major Raja Aziz Bhatty Shaheed, Capt. Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed, Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed and Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed.
The star attraction of the season is undoubtedly the Pakistan Derby 2006, to be run at the Racecourse on March 5 and the Jinnah Cup (Dec 18).
The other important events to be held during the season are: September Cup and Come September Cup (Sept 12), Muhammad Tughlaq Cup (Sept 25), Islamabad Cup (Oct 16), The Pakistan Oaks (Nov 20), Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babar Cup (Nov 20), Pakistan St. Leger (Dec 4), Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Jehangir Cup (Dec 11), The Christmas Cup (Dec 25), The New Year Cup (Jan 1),The Ghaznavi Cup (Jan 8), Qutub-ud-Din Aibak Cup (Jan 22), Nero Cup (Feb 5) The 1000 Guineas Of Pakistan (Feb 5), Derby Trials (Feb 19), Ghazali Cup (Feb 26), Lahore Classic Cup (Mar 5) National Breeders Cup (March 5), LRC Cup (March 5), Mohy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir Cup (Mar 12), Eclipse Stakes Of Pakistan (March 19), Shalimar Cup (Mar 28), PIA Super Jet Pakistan Cup (April 3), The PIA Super 777 Jet Pakistan Cup (April 10), Farewell Cup (April 10), Spring Cup (April 17), Royal Ascot Cup (April 24) and May Day Cup (May 1).
The current season’s prospectus has specifically enumerated classic and semi-classic races, two-year-old and three-year-old, half-bred and thoroughbred, handicap races for class VII, Class V, Class IV, Class III, Class II and Class I events and those for imported thoroughbred horses.
However, in case of entries falling short of required number of horses, divisions in classes and the Class I, II and III horses will be combined in the handicap.
The prospectus will be put before a special meeting of the LRC stewards for approval on Sept 4, which will be just a formality.
The meeting will be presided over by LRC chairman, Tariq Aziz.
The prospectus and the meeting agenda has already been sent to the stewards. It will be distributed among owners from Monday next.