The Council of The Malta Racing Club is organising a new championship for all locally registered Swedish horses. This event is to be sponsored by U*BET, operated by Maltco Lotteries Ltd.

This was announced yesterday by the new chairman of the Malta Racing Club, Dr Matthew Brincat, who also went on to reveal the names of the new council which will be composed of Roderick Vella, secretary, Maurice Scerri, treasurer, Mark Vella, marketing manager, Marco Millo, project manager and Claudio Drago, member of the Horse Owners Association.

The Council was appointed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Mr Clyde Puli.

Dr Brincat thanked U*BET for the sponsorship of this championship which will start on Sunday with the opening heats and will come to a conclusion on Sunday 9 November.

Dr Brincat said that the amount of Swedish horses on the island had risen considerably over the past few years. "In the last three years alone, around 250 such horses have been registered with the Malta Racing Club," he added.

Such a championship will be organised in all the categories, that is, Premier, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Dr Brincat said that the commitment and enthusiasm of the new council should help to give an upgrade to horse-racing in Malta. "It is our intention to stake stock of the present situation and improve on what we have found. I believe that after football, horse-racing is still one of the most popular sports in Malta as the races are bound to offer a spectacle to all those who attend. We are also hoping to improve the surroundings at the track for a better environment," he said.

Dr Brincat added that the Council will be taking several serious initiatives in this regard and this augured well for the future of horse-racing in Malta.

Mario Cassar, general director of Maltco Lotteries, said that U*BET Horse-racing has been operating for the past year by offering races from Sweden at their outlets during all days of the week with the V75 series on Saturdays. He added that the company had almost reached its targets locally.

He said that if this sponsorship proved to be successful, there would be the possibility of an extension of the agreement for the future.