There’s yet another reason to celebrate at the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate with the news that the total prizemoney for one of the premier 1600m events in South Africa has received a massive boost.

The race, being run on 7 January, will now offer a stake of R1.5-million with the news confirmed after Kenilworth Racing and the Racing Association agreed to up the ante for the Grade One contest.

“As an owner and breeder I was very happy to hear about the substantial amount of money being put into the stakes pot. If we are going to attract more owners to the sport of racing this is the best and simplest way to do it,” Gaynor Rupert, one of South African racing’s doyennes, and the driving force behind the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate said.

It is yet another milestone in the history of this marquee race which was first run back in 1861 for a prize of 500 sovereigns and a silver plate donated by Queen Victoria. 

“We, as the Racing Association, believe that a race of the calibre of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate deserves a substantial boost with regards to the stake offered and hopefully in time to come we can increase it further,” Larry Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association, said of the announcement.

There’s another historic element to this event given that it’s being held over two days for the first time, a first for South African racing, with the Cartier Sceptre Stakes (Gr 2) highlighting the opening day of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate Festival on the Friday before the main event takes place the following afternoon.

Last year’s race was won by Legal Eagle and helped cement his status as the Horse of the Year.