The 2026 Season · Explained

Guyana Horse Racing.The 2026 season.

One simple map of Guyana's thoroughbred year. A Nomination Series of qualifying race-days feeds the headline Guyana Cup final on August 23 — run across three Berbice turf clubs: Port Mourant, Rising Sun and Bush Lot United.

4 + 1
Nomination days + final
3 clubs
All in Berbice
Aug 23
Guyana Cup final
G$46.4M
Final feature purse

How the season works. The simple version.

It looks confusing because there are several meets at several clubs — but there's one backbone. The 2026 Guyana Cup Nomination Series runs four qualifying race-days; horses that place qualify for the big Guyana Cup final on August 23. The July 5 Caricom Gold Cup at Port Mourant is the last of those qualifiers. A couple of standalone meets (a gymkhana, a now-cancelled Independence Cup) sit alongside but aren't part of the chain.

1

The qualifiers

Four nomination days — Feb 1 & Apr 5 (Port Mourant), May 3 (Bush Lot United), and July 5 (Port Mourant, the Caricom Gold Cup). Each feeds runners into the final.

2

The final

Guyana Cup, Aug 23 at Rising Sun Turf Club — the Caribbean's biggest meet. Five feature races, combined purse G$46.375M.

3

The standalones

The May 24 Grand Day Gymkhana (Bush Lot) and the May 31 Jumbo Jet Independence Cup (Port Mourant, cancelled) are separate one-off meets — not part of the nomination chain.

The horses. Local legends.

In Guyana, fans follow the horses as much as the form. These are the names defining the current era — every fact sourced, no invented stats.

Slingerz Racing

Olympic Kremlin

Brazilian-bred. Won the 16th Guyana Cup (2024) and the 2024 President's Cup, and was named the 2024 Horse of the Year.

Master Zed Racing

Dataman

USA-bred and unbeaten in Guyana — the 17th Guyana Cup (2025), the 2025 President's Cup, then beat Olympic Kremlin in the 2026 Banks DIH Classic.

One Guyana Racing

Harrow

Carried One Guyana Racing (with Averill Racing) to the 2025 Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup — Guyana's first-ever win in the Caribbean's premier race.

Master Zed Racing

Easy Time

Master Zed's first marquee imported winner — took the 2023 Guyana Cup, setting up the stable's run of champions.

We publish only sourced facts — named race wins, the stable, the year. Career-total wins, earnings and ratings aren't kept in any central Guyana database, so we leave them off rather than guess. Sources: Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, Guyana Chronicle, Guyana Times, Barbados Turf Club.

The stables. Where the rivalry lives.

Stable pride drives Guyana racing — owners and their horses are community celebrities. The big names of 2024–26:

Slingerz Racing

Owner Javed Ali. Home of Olympic Kremlin (2024 Horse of the Year); campaigns in Guyana and Brazil.

Master Zed Racing

The Mohamed family's stable — home of Dataman and Easy Time, winners of the 2023 and 2025 Guyana Cups.

One Guyana Racing

Took Harrow to the 2025 Barbados Gold Cup (with Averill Racing, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr) — Guyana's flag-bearer on the regional stage.

Jumbo Jet / JJTRC

The Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee hosts the Guyana Cup at Rising Sun; its racing stable fields Anthem King.

Jagdeo Racing

A Corentyne, Berbice family stable with three decades in the sport — campaigners like Soca Harmony and Awesome Warrior.

The 2026 calendar. Every meet.

All the thoroughbred meets we're tracking for 2026, in order. Tap any event we cover for full details.

DateEventTurf ClubStatus
Jan 4New Year's Stakes (Jumbo Jet)Rising SunRun
Feb 1Banks DIH Classic — Nomination Day 1Port MourantRun
Mar 1Bush Lot Fund-Raising MeetBush Lot UnitedRun
Mar 15Phagwah Meet — Metro Mile (Phagwah Cup)Kennard MemorialRun
Apr 26Easter Cup — Nomination Day 2Port MourantRun
May 3Nomination Day 3Bush Lot UnitedRun
May 24Grand Day GymkhanaBush Lot UnitedRun
May 31Jumbo Jet Independence CupPort MourantCancelled
Jul 5 NextCaricom Gold Cup — final nomination dayPort MourantUpcoming
Aug 23 FinalGuyana Cup 2026 — 18th runningRising SunUpcoming
SepPresident's CupRising SunDate TBC
OctKabisa Stakes (J's Supermarket)Bush Lot UnitedDate TBC
Dec 26Boxing Day — Sunny Kharag Memorial StakesKennard MemorialAnnual · TBC

Dates move: Berbice's rainy season means meets are routinely postponed (the 2026 Easter Cup shifted to Apr 26) — second-half-of-season dates firm up closer to the day, so always check the source before travelling. Sources: @guyanahorserace (canonical) · Kaieteur News turf desk (most consistent meet coverage) · Guyana Cup organisers (JJTRC) · the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (national regulator, established 2025). Early nomination days are also documented on the Guyana Cup page.

Guyana Cup winners. Recent history.

The roll of honour for Guyana's biggest race, at Rising Sun Turf Club. Sourced from the Guyana press; we'll extend it as we confirm the earlier editions.

YearWinning HorseStable
2026 Aug 23To be run
2025DatamanMaster Zed Racing
2024Olympic KremlinSlingerz Racing
2023Easy TimeMaster Zed Racing
2022Alado
2019Lucky StarCheefoon Racing

No Guyana Cup was run in 2020–2021 (the COVID gap). Edition numbers (13th–18th) line up with these years, but we hold them until each is confirmed in a primary report. Sources: Newsroom Guyana, Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle, Guyana Times, Kaieteur News.

The turf clubs. Don't mix them up.

All in Berbice — but three different venues across two regions.

Port Mourant Turf Club

Corentyne, East Berbice (Region 6). Hosts the early nomination days and the July 5 Caricom Gold Cup. Also the venue of the cancelled May 31 Independence Cup.

Rising Sun Turf Club

Weldaad, West Coast Berbice (Region 5). Home of the Guyana Cup final — every modern edition has been run here.

Bush Lot United Turf Club

West Coast Berbice (Region 5). Hosted Nomination Day 3 (May 3) and the May 24 Grand Day Gymkhana.

Kennard Memorial Turf Club

Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne (Region 6) — distinct from Bush Lot United. Hosts the Dec 26 Boxing Day / Sunny Kharag Memorial meet plus Phagwah & CARICOM Day races.

Georgetown Turf Club

Mocha-Arcadia, East Bank Demerara — the only Demerara club, revived in 2025 (run by Three Men Promotion).

FAQ · Guyana horse racing 2026.

The quick answers. We keep this current as the season unfolds.

What horse-racing events are on in Guyana in 2026?

The 2026 season runs the Guyana Cup Nomination Series — four qualifying race-days (Feb 1 and Apr 5 at Port Mourant, May 3 at Bush Lot United, and July 5 the Caricom Gold Cup at Port Mourant) — feeding the headline Guyana Cup final on August 23 at Rising Sun Turf Club. Also on the calendar were the May 24 Grand Day Gymkhana (Bush Lot United) and the May 31 Jumbo Jet Independence Cup (Port Mourant), which was cancelled.

What is the Guyana Cup Nomination Series?

New for 2026, it is a set of four qualifying race-days across Port Mourant and Bush Lot United turf clubs (Feb 1, Apr 5, May 3, July 5). Top finishers in each nomination race qualify for the corresponding feature at the August 23 Guyana Cup final.

Which turf clubs host Guyana horse racing?

Guyana's thoroughbred racing is concentrated in Berbice across three clubs: Port Mourant Turf Club (Corentyne, Region 6), Rising Sun Turf Club (Weldaad, West Coast Berbice, Region 5) and Bush Lot United Turf Club (West Coast Berbice, Region 5).

When is the 2026 Guyana Cup final?

Sunday, August 23, 2026 — the 18th running — at Rising Sun Turf Club, Weldaad, West Coast Berbice. Five feature races with a combined purse of G$46.375M.

What is the Caricom Gold Cup?

A 10-race meet on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at Port Mourant Turf Club with over G$15M in cash and prizes. It is the final nomination day of the Guyana Cup Nomination Series — the last qualifier before the August 23 final.