The Hope Renewed 1st Year International Horse Racing Derby opened on Wednesday in Kaduna.

Akonitv reports that the tournament, organised by the Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria ends on Saturday.

The derby with the theme: ‘Hope Renewed 1st Anniversary Democracy Derby 2nd Edition Under Division System Race’. was organised to commemorate the first year anniversary of President Bola Tinubu.

The breeds of contestants included thorough-bred horses originating from Great Britain And Sudan.

Others are Talon-horses originating from Chad and Naija breed, born, bred and trained in Nigeria.

Similarly, there are the Arewa-Local Arewa Horses from Nigeria and Niger Republic.

There are also trophies and car races to be competed for, in the finals on Saturday.

They trophies are: President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Hope Renewed 1st Year Democracy Cup and the Sen. Uba Sani, Governor’s Cup, and the Sultan’s Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar Horse Amirul Muminin Cup.

They also include Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, Emir of Zazzau’s Cup and Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, Etsu Nupe’s Cup.

Speaking at the event, the Life Patron of the federation, the Etsu Nupe and Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, said it has worked tirelessly to promote horse racing in the country.

He said, “Today’s event is a testament to our dedication.

“We have witnessed growth, excitement and passion from our participants and spectators alike.

“As we celebrate this anniversary, we also remember those who have supported us along the way.
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“We pay tribute to the horses and riders who have entertained us with their skills and process.

“Sadly, we so take a moment to mourn those who were involved in an accident on their way to this tournament.”

The royal father also commiserated the families of the deceased, adding that, “but even in the face of adversity, we have strength in our shared passion for horse racing.

“We will continue to work together to ensure the sport’s growth and success”.

The National Coordinator, Horse Racing Federation of Nigeria, Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar-Bida, said the derby was organised to bolster unity across Nigeria and the West African Sub-region.

According to him, there are participants from across Nigeria and other African countries like Niger, Chad and Cameroun, among others.

“This historic event is aimed at reviving horse racing as an age-long event that started in the 1960’s and with Kaduna as its hub, “he said.

The event was graced by the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmad Bamalli, the Emir of Machina in Yobe, Dr Bashir Bukar, the Madakin Zazzau, Alhaji Munnir Ja’afaru and the Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Alhaji Yusuf Liman, among others.

Nine years after it was discontinued and missing from the annual tourism offerings of the state, the famous Obudu mountain race will resume this year.

The tournament, a brainchild of former Governor Donald Duke, was conceived during his second term in office and kicked off in 2005.

The 11.25km tournament was designed, among others, to boost global awareness of the Obudu Cattle Ranch in the northern part of the state and also make the youths in the state to embrace athletics.

The mountain race gained global acclaim over the years and was an associate member race of the World Mountain Running Association and at a point was endorsed by the International Association of Athletics Federation.

The tournament which had about $250,000 dollars available for grabs by various categories of winners was, however, suspended by the government due to a number of factors, including lack of funds and benefit to locals in the area.

Things have, however, taken a turn for good as the state tourism commissioner, Abubakar Ewa, has announced a plan by the government to revive the mountain race.

The commissioner, who disclosed this in Calabar, the capital of the state, said it is part of a wider plan by the state government to bring in lots of innovations into the tourism sector of the state. He also announced a plan by the government to relaunch its ecotourism sector.

“We hope to bring lots of innovations into the tourism sector and plans are afoot to revive the mountain race this year and also relaunch ecotourism in the state.

“We must organize packages for the leisure of tourists, particularly as the state is very rich in eco-tourism. We are also developing our tour sites in the state like the Qua Falls, which are very fantastic, Boki Water Falls, Drill Ranch, monoliths and others,” he said.

He also announced that as part of plans to revive the mountain race, the government has been removing all the obstacles that have over the years impeded the smooth functioning of the Obudu Cattle Ranch and has paid over N200-million salary liabilities.

Also speaking, the executive secretary of the carnival commission, Austin Cobham, said creative innovations will be added to this year’s carnival even as they intend to put non- competing bands ahead so that they can create sensitization and awareness of the carnival.

He also announced that in addition to the Carnival Calabar in December, two other carnivals have been added to the calendar, which are the Ikom and Ogoja carnivals in October and November. He dded that the government is aggressively expanding infrastructure in the state for the carnivals and the benefit of the people.

To encourage tourism, the Katsina State Government has restated its total commitment to promoting the state’s cultural heritage and traditions.

The Katsina State Commissioner for Information and Culture Bala Zango disclosed this to reporters on Sunday at the sideline of the Season 3 Dambe Warriors Circuit Fight 11 Competition, otherwise known as traditional boxing held at the Katsina Open Air Theatre.

According to him, Katsina is a culture-friendly state, thus assuring the state government’s readiness, to organise inter-local government’s traditional boxing competition.

On his part, the Co-founder of Dambe Warriors Chidi Anyina described Dambe as a new structure of attracting more funding from investors within and outside Nigeria, which he said will, in turn, implate the economy.

He described the power of Dambe entertainment as one that can not be overstated, saying that the narrative can be changed through such sports as the Dambe,

“It’s just a league. In each category, each fighter will fight in different cities starting from Katsina, Niger, Abuja, and Kano among other participating states.

“We have light weight, middle weight and heavy weight categories. The last two will be disqualified and will leave the league and we will recruit new fighters as promotional for a competition. The third group will now fight at the finals to determine the king of Dambe in that category.

“We sign the best fighters and pay them a good fee, monthly salaries, and appearance bonuses. For those that win at the finals, we give them one million naira each and N500,000 for the new fighters.

“This is a new structure of attracting more funding from investment within and outside the country.

“The locals are sleeping on this, we can take it to the international league. This will also impact the economy because the power of entertainment can not be overstated. Narrative can be changed through sports like this,” Anyina added.

Earlier, three rounds of Dambe competition were conducted between Autan Kudawa from Kano State who eventually got 88 points, and Manu Shagon Garkuwar Cindo from Kebbi State who in the end scored 87 points.

During the competition, a Nasarawa fighter Aljanin Bahagon defeated Dan Bahagon Zayyanu after scoring 87 points. His rival scored 86 points.