Home to Africa’s greatest horseracing event, the Hollywoodbets Durban July, Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse hosts a total of 12 Grade One races during Champions Season which offers more than R44 million in race stakes.
Framed in the background by the many hotels of Durban’s Golden Mile, Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse is situated at the bottom of Durban’s Berea and surrounds the green expanse of Royal Durban Golf Club’s championship course.
The right-handed track is pear-shaped and covers a distance of 2800 metres with 2400 metres under floodlights. A road from the Berea to the centre of the city passes under the course, and the construction of the two subways to accommodate this road resulted in the course having a number of unusual gradient features: –
- an uphill section from the 2 200 metre mark up to the 1 800 metre mark.
- thereafter a gentle downward slope to about the 1200 metre mark.
- an uphill section follows from the 1000 metre mark into the straight.
- an almost level 450 metre final straight to Hollywoodbets Greyville’s famed winning post.
On 11 June 2014 Hollywoodbets Greyville raced for the first time on its new Polytrack. Positioned inside the turf track the 2000 metre Polytrack, which accommodates a maximum field size of twelve, has proved very popular. Polytrack racing takes place every Friday night from September to April.
