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New speed records, starting gates and gender balance have been set using Nigerian breed horses at the just concluded horse racing competition in Kano where horses have moved from a speed of one minute, ten seconds to a speed of one minute per five far lots
This was announced to newsen on Saturday by the National Coordinator of the Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria, Mustapha Abubakar Bida, at the end of the four-day horse racing international competition that took place in Kano
“During the race, a lot of important things have happened. Today history has also made it that our horses that were born and bred in Nigeria are breaking records day by day in their final race for today. Their skill, their speed has increased
“They have always raced for about one minute ten seconds for five far lots, today they have raced in one minute. This is an increament in strength, this is record breaking
“For a five far lots in a minute, this is the highest speed you can get in a horse. So we are moving closer to breaking global records, as far as speed of racing is concerned
“This is also puting Nigeria at the global stage, what it means is that gradually we are getting there. We are going to have horses that can be rated as the top speed horses in the world. This is one of the major things that happened during this event,” he stated
He also mentioned that a starting gate for the racing has also been achieved during the event, adding that it has delivered the race within record time
He explained that prior to the implementation of the starting gate in horse racing in Nigeria races were completed in three to four hours
However, with the starting gate, a new record of concluding the race has reduced to one and a half hour he explained, describing it as the global standard
He said it was a departure from what has been happening for over 40 years in Nigeria
“The first time a proposal for a starting gate to be used in Nigeria was in 1980 but it never happened, and 1980 to date is about 46 years,” he said
Another record breaking achieved during the competition is the first ever women race in Africa, where women have also participated in the race
There was a gender balance where women have also raced for the first time in an international event. In a Nigeria
Six winners of the races based on the weight, ownership and riders of the horses have taken home trophies and brand new cars at the end of the Saturday event
The National Coordinator of the Horse Racing Federation also announced that there is going to be a grand finale of the racing coming up in Kaduna, which is expected to be graced by President Bola Ahmad Tinubu
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