Horse racing Cup, Barbé Cup, Maiden Cup and the Duke of York Cup. Most of the horses are imported from South Africa but some are also acquired from Australia, the United Kingdom and France. Horse racing is a popular sport in South Africa that can be traced back to 1797. The first recorded race club meeting took place five years later in 1802. The national horse racing body is known as the National Horseracing Authority and was founded in 1882. The premier event, which attracts 50,000 people to Durban, is the Durban July Handicap, which has been run since 1897 at Greyville
Horse racing in Ireland Run over a minimum of 2 miles, National Hunt races require the horses to clear a number of obstacles. There are three types of National Hunt race: Steeplechase and Hurdle races are held each year at 23 courses, of which 3 run exclusively National Hunt races. A number of other types of horse racing take place in Ireland, including Harness racing and Endurance racing. There are 26 major racecourses in Ireland, more per head of population than any other country, with more than 350 race meetings and 2,000 races annually. More than 1.3m people visit Irish racecourses each year, with