The Malta Racing Club and St James Hospital yesterday launched the flat racing derby which is being sponsored by the Hospital.

There will be two semi-finals – on 28 May and 4 June with six horses taking part on each day. The first three on both days will qualify for the A final, while the remaining horse will qualify for the B final. These two finals are to be held on Friday 16 June, under floodlights.

The winner of final A will receive the sum of Lm350, while the runner-up will receive Lm150 and the third placed Lm50.

The winner of final B will get Lm130, Lm90 will go to the second placed and Lm30 to the third placed horse.

There will also be some prize money for the top three in the semi-finals, with the winner getting Lm50, the runner-up Lm25 and the third placed Lm15.

Taking part in the first semi-final next Sunday are Rich Crystal, Kohima, Secondino, Mick Athos, Black Metal and Docklands Brian. The participants in the second semi-final the week after will be Piroetta, Swing Dancer, Managing Director, Diouganer, Sky Deal and Etoile du Pic.

Addressing the press yesterday morning, Dr Jean Muscat, director of St James Hospital, said the company felt the time was ripe to open its services not just to health care, but also to help such events. “This is our contribution to sport,” he said adding that the company had entered into an agreement with the Malta Racing Club for the provision of an ambulance service during race meetings.

Club secretary Tony Debono thanked Dr Muscat for the sponsorship of the event adding that they hoped this would become an annual fixture on the racing calendar in future. He said: “Flat racing is again becoming very popular, especially with the large number of tourists who visit the racing track every Sunday.”

Dr Matthew Brincat, on the part of the organisers, said their idea of staging the finals on a Friday meeting under floodlights should prove to be a bigger attraction for the horse-racing enthusiasts and others.

He said that for the first time, doping will be introduced in this event, though on a limited basis.

He said that there will be some new horses among the participants compared to those who took part in the Waterline Restaurant Derby. These are Rich Crystal, Secondino, Mick Athos, Sky Deal and Etoile du Pic. Most of them have only taken part in last Sunday’s race which proved to be their debut in Malta.