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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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