Piggs Peak Casino Swaziland, home of All Africa Poker, will sponsor night racing at Turffontein in Gauteng and Greyville in Durban, as well as twilight meetings at Kenilworth in Cape Town from January 2010.

"The atmosphere at night racing is electric and provides a completely different experience to day-time events,’’ says Wendy Graaf, Group Marketing Manager of Piggs Peak Casino."It’s a great opportunity for the public to be part of this different format of horseracing.’’

Phumelela Sales Executive, Clyde Basel, said Phumelela and Gold Circle were delighted to be joining forces with Piggs Peak Casino. "Many horseplayers also play at casinos, and we see it as a natural partnership that will be good for both parties and all our customers.’’

Night racing provides an opportunity for people unable to attend day meetings to experience the thrill of horseracing and takes the sport to a new level. It’s also an ideal opportunity for corporates to treat staff, customers and suppliers to an exciting and unique evening.

Piggs Peak Casino Swaziland, home of All Africa Poker will be holding Gambling Board approved educational poker evenings at the various racetracks, where patrons can learn the basics of Texas Hold-em poker from poker tutors in between betting on the horses on the tote.

"There are many similarities between horseracing and poker, including the terminology used, and supporters will be able to draw parallels between the two forms of entertainment at their leisure,’’ says Graaf.

She says sponsoring night racing was a natural progression for Piggs Peak Casino. "We’re a gaming entertainment company and we’d like to educate more people about how to have fun while enjoying gambling responsibly, be it horseracing or poker. This is a great way for new and experienced players to take part. We are very proud of the partnership we have formed with Phumelela and Gold Circle and we hope that the punters will enjoy the synergies of our relationship,’’ Graaf said.

More than 30 night meetings will be held at Turffontein and Greyville this year. The installation of floodlights at Turffontein was completed in October 2009 and has added a new dimension to racing at Phumelela’s flagship racing venue.