Reviewed by Shihaam IsaacsSouth Africa sports betting writer
Published 17 September 2026
South Africa keeps the grading on ten races that were under review, including six at Grade 1, after the Asian Pattern Committee met on 3 September and decided against downgrading them.
The National Horseracing Authority has announced the outcome. The races keep their current status for the 2026/27 season, and one race goes up. AXN Sports has set out below which races were on the list and what a grade is actually worth.
Which races were on the list
Six races hold Grade 1: the Betway Summer Cup, the TAB Computaform Sprint, the South African Fillies Sprint, the Wilgerbosdrift Mary Slack SA Fillies Classic, the TAB Empress Club Stakes and the Gold Medallion. Two hold Grade 2, the Joburg Spring Fillies and Mares Challenge and the TAB Camellia Stakes. The WSB Sycamore Sprint stays at Grade 3 and the Betway Swallow Stakes stays Listed.
The Gatecrasher Stakes was raised from Listed to Grade 3, the only promotion in the review.
The ten reprieved races remain on warning, and a further ten graded and listed races were also placed on warning for falling short of the committee’s rating benchmarks.
Why a grade is worth defending
A race earns its grade on the ratings of the horses that run in it, measured over consecutive seasons against an international benchmark. Fall below the mark for long enough and the grade goes, and that is what a warning notice is for.
The money that moves on the day is the smaller part of it. Grades are the language the breeding market speaks. A Grade 1 winner is worth more at stud, a black type line follows a mare for the rest of her life, and international catalogues use those grades to place a South African horse beside an Australian or a Japanese one. A downgrade quietly reprices a generation of stock.
For punters the effect shows up in field size. Races under warning tend to attract thinner fields, because owners chasing black type go where the grade is safest, and thin fields shorten prices at the top of the market.
The reprieve is temporary. The ratings these races produce over the coming season decide whether the same list returns to the committee next year.
Where to bet: South African racing is priced by licensed local bookmakers such as Hollywoodbets and Betway, in rand, on tote pools and on fixed odds. Feature races carry the deepest markets of the season, with win, place, exotics and antepost prices open weeks ahead on the Summer Cup. Deposits run through Ozow instant EFT, Capitec Pay and OTT Voucher. Prices on a Grade 1 can differ between books once the field is declared, so compare the two before you take one. Our guide to the best betting sites in South Africa covers licensing and payout times, and there is more in South Africa horse racing news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
