Horse Racing
Champ de Mars
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, 30 race-meetings were held every year with eight 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.