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The sole race-track, commonly
called the Champ de Mars, is situated in a prestigious avenue
in Port-Louis, the Capital City and is one of the oldest race-courses
in the Southern Hemisphere.
During the past
few years, 23 race-meetings were held every year with seven
races per meeting. The first race-meeting usually starts in
mid May and ends normally in late November. With an average
of 9 horses per race, some going to a maximum of 12 starters,
on average some 60 horses participate at each meeting, the real
cracks, Division A horses being entered in the fourth race,
which is considered as the main feature race of the day.
Most of the horses are being
imported from South Africa but some are also acquired from Australia,
England, and France.Each stable signs a foreign jockey, most
of them from South Africa and Australia.Betting with bookmakers
is a common habit for racegoers when punters expect to place
their bet for a win only. Since the early 1990's, the Totalising
System has been introduced and various betting combinations
are now also available. The standard of horses in Mauritius
may not be as high as in Europe or U.S., but the atmosphere
during a race-meeting is definitely as electrifying as anywhere
else in the world.
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