NIGER- The Hope-Renewed International Horse Racing Tournament, tagged, ‘Sahel Savannah Stakes Series’, opened on Wednesday in Bida, Niger.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event, organised by the Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria ends on Saturday.
The National Coordinator, Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria, Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar-Bida, said the tournament was organised to bolster unity across Nigeria and the West African Sub-region.
He said this at the opening of the event organised by the Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria.
NAN also reports that the tournament held at the Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar International Race Course, Bida.
According to him, there are participants from across Nigeria and other African countries like Niger, Chad and Cameroun, among others.
Mustapha-Bida said, “This historic event is aimed at reviving horse racing as an age-long event that started in the 1960’s.
“We are so grateful that the maiden race for the year in the entire Africa witnessed lots of transformation between what happened last year and what we are seeing today.”
According to him, this is the first time the event is featuring a breed that is two years old in Nigeria,
He said that in a short while, Nigeria would be racing anywhere in the world with horses that were born in Nigeria, saying, “they will have an equal strength with the international horses
“So, they can compete any where in the world, as such, it is a very exciting time,” the national Ccordinator added.
Mustapha-Bida added that there were also trophies and car races to be competed for in the finals of the all-important sports coming up on Saturday.
According to him, it is the maiden horse race for 2025 across the globe, adding that a lot of transformation has been made to make the event world-class.
He added that new horses have emerged just like other new winners that have unfolded at the epochal event.
Mustapha-Bida stated that Nigeria now boasts of thorough-bred horses that could compete globally.
He added that they had seven races for Wednesday’s maiden race ceremony and several winners had emerged.
Mustapha-Bida explained that there were three winners that had raced for 800 metres, with a horse called Madina emerging as the overall winner.
He said a horse called Lailatulkaderi clinched the second position while the third position was grabbed by a horse called l Sunnah. (NAN)
