BOV Tazza l-Kbira – 80 Years of Racing History

It is with pleasure that we announce that this year’s sponsor is Bank of Valletta.

Every owner and driver aspires to see his name on the roll of honour of this trophy which sees the participation of the best horses currently racing on the island. This year is more special as we are celebrating the 80th anniversary since the first edition was held way back in 1934 and which was won by Frise Poulet. Naturally at that time this was held at the old racetrack.

Although it has been 80 years, due to several reasons it was not held every year but since 2008 it has been held regularly. This year’s edition sees the registration of 61 horses which have been divided in 5 races from which the first six will qualify for the semi finals.  Amongst these 61 horses we have 5 mares and one can say that there is a participation from 8 different nations – 33 French, 17 Swedish, 5 German, 2 Italian as well as a Belgian, Dutch, American and Danish.  In this edition 8 new horses will be making their first start and we also have last year’s winner Nabab du Chatelet.

The 30 horses that qualify for the semi finals will race each other again on Sunday 13th April when they will be divided in 3 races from which the first four will go on to the final on Sunday 27th April.

This year the total prize money awarded will be a record one as part of the 80th Anniversary celebrations. In fact in just the final 8000 Euro will be distributed from which €4250 will be given to the winner, €2000 for the second placed, €1000 for the third place, €500 for fourth and €250 for whoever finishes fifth. Another €9600 will be distributed during the heats and semi finals.

The finalist horses will also be given a commemorative blanket which they will use during the pre-race parade. The winning owner apart from receiving It-Tazza l-Kbira for a year, will also be given a commemorative trophy which will be a special one due to this year’s anniversary. For this we thank the company b.e.d and its director Samuel Agius Livori who is responsible for designing the commemorative logo which will be used during these weeks.  The owners of the horses that finish from 2nd till 5th place will also receive a trophy.

As always, the Malta Racing Club will be preparing a special programme on the day of the final in order to entertain all those present.

The press conference was also address by the CEO of Bank of Valleta Mr Charles Borg who said that ‘Bank of Valletta is no stranger to horse racing having already supported the organisation of horse racing in the past. With BOV’s tradition of supporting sporting excellence, it is indeed our pleasure to support the highlight of the Malta Racing Club’s calendar. With the quality of the horses

participating in this race, we have no doubt that this race will attract the interest, not only of the horse racing community but also of the general public.