NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 5 – The bleak winter echoed the silence of the hallowed grounds of racing that lay in rest and repair, marking time until the sun would warm the bitter and howling wind, turning an almost arctic-Siberian-cold that had arrested and incarcerated Nairobi, into long warm tropical days with afternoons basked in soft hues of yellow and orange that feel like life should be spent outside.
And so it is, under this propitious forecast, that the 2025/26 horse racing season returns to Ngong Racecourse this Sunday, 07 September 2025, at 12:30 PM, for the season opening with the Directors Million Shillings Stakes.
The tides of change also sees a departure from the traditional giants of the sport to the new-practised-neophytes, with Michael Fundi, the Champion Jockey for the 2024/25 season and the youngest winner in over a decade, looking to defend his shiny jewelled crown and title as the Prince of Racing.
J Karari, the Champion Trainer for the 2024/25 season by a significant margin, will be looking to prove that his prolific victories are not an isolated phenomenon, but a mastery of the sport that has earned him the epithet of the horse whisperer.
The soft-spoken and seemingly unflappable K Bakor, the Champion Private Trainer for 2024/25, will be looking to build on his first season’s success, which contributed to the triumph of Fundi, and led the sensational talent of Bedford to be The George Drew Series winner.
Racing has grown tremendously over the past two seasons, with the sport re-understanding itself in a modern context, defined by the new faithful, with crowds thronging in their thousands to what is now arguably one of the most popular sports in Kenya, and the season opener promises to be no different.
A combination of the finest racing in East Africa, amalgamated with a fashion scene that boasts glamour and celebrity from the finest couture on the continent, electrifying beats from Nairobi’s finest DJ’s, and unmatched entertainment make it the most unmissable event in the sports calendar.
20250907 | JCK | NEWSPAPER & MEDIA
NGONG RACECOURSE – DIRECTORS’ DAY
RACE CARD | FOR PUBLISHING
| RACE | TIME | RACE | DISTANCE |
| 1 | 1:35 PM | THE SHUJAA HANDICAP | 2060m |
| 2 | 2:10 PM | THE BLUE CAP HANDICAP | 1600m |
| 3 | 2:45 PM | THE I CAN FLY MAIDEN | 1600m |
| 4 | 3:20 PM | THE ALFA ROMEO TROPHY | 1400m |
| 5 | 3:55 PM | THE ULTRA SHARP TROPHY | 1800m |
| 6 | 4:30 PM | THE ARABIAN MYSTERY MAIDEN | 1200m |
