July 18 - Despite warnings from a prominent South African government department to halt construction of floodlighting at Johannesburg's premier horseracing venue, Turffontein Racecourse, Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Ltd, who control horseracing in the region, have ordered construction to continue as scheduled.

Night racing is becoming increasingly popular at horseracing venues around the world, and for Phumelela the time was right to offer the night time racing experience to Johannesburg's hoards of punters and racing fans. But whether they'll get to watch an actual night race remains to be seen, given the current situation.

The problem stems from the fact that the 'Environmental Authorization' required from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for construction of the floodlights, was issued to Neville Harbott of Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited on February 26, 2007. However, that authorization has now expired.

As such, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has warned Phumelela that 'any construction undertaken without the required authorization will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.' Phumelela CEO, David Attenborough, responded by saying, 'The lighting project is proceeding on schedule.'

While this debacle is clearly a matter of Red Tape between the South African government and Phumelela, the ultimate winners of the floodlights will be horseracing fans themselves, who'll be able to enjoy the excitement and novelty of night racing under the cover of warm and clear Johannesburg summer skies.

The first night races at Turffontein have been scheduled for Saturday, November 7 as part of the venue's popular Charity Mile November Handicap race meeting, which has always traditionally attracted a sizeable number of spectators. That number is expected to increase with night racing thrown into the mix.

Located just 3 km from the Johannesburg CBD, Turffontein Racecourse offers parking for up to 3000 cars and hosts most of the top races in the province, and regularly hosts many of South Africa's leading jockeys including Anton Marcus, Piere Strydom, Anthony Delpech and Weichong Marwing.

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2012/04/02 09:28:55 PM