Global Team Horse Racing (GTH), who engaged a young, diverse, and globally connected fan base for horse racing with their inaugural GTH Team Series at Hollywoodbets Greyville this year, has won the prestigious and sought-after ‘Event of The Year’ Award, presented at The Hollard Sports Industry Awards ceremony in Johannesburg last Thursday evening.
Staged annually, the Sport Industry Awards showcase and reward the industry’s very best work, from a whole host of sports, brands, agencies, and rights holders, covering marketing, PR, digital, sponsorship, advertising, community investment, social media, and branding.
Campaigns launched between 31 August 2021 and 30th 2022 were eligible for a range of awards, including Sponsor of The Year, Communications Award and African Excellence and Social/Environmental Impact, with Event of The Year being one of the jewels in the crown. GTH was also nominated for Audio Visual Content of The Year.
Nominees for Event of The Year included the Rugby World Cup Sevens (SA Rugby), the Spar Grand Prix (BLD Group) and the Hollywoodbets Super League (SAFA). GTH CEO, Steve Ajax, commented: “We are hugely honoured and privileged to have won this award in the company of some big industry names. We believed from the start that GTH would be a game-changer with its thrilling, fast-paced, team racing concept aimed at a new, diverse generation of fans.”
Ajax added: “The award is an endorsement of the outstanding efforts of our exceptional team. They persisted in the face of a fair number of challenges which required great effort but pulled off a phenomenal series. Their commitment is praiseworthy, and I extend my thanks.
“We have plenty more to come next year as, alongside our live events, we’ve set our sights on the Metaverse with our ground-breaking digital offer, Meta.Horse, a holistic horse racing experience based on our unique GTH format.”
Angus Campbell, Marketing Director GTH Racing, said: “It’s been an exceptionally successful year for GTH with the completion of the pilot Live Series. We’ve learnt so much during 2022 and getting awarded Event of the Year is a huge positive for GTH and for racing. However, there is a long way to go, and we will keep pushing boundaries in everything we do.
“Our sincere thanks go to Hollard Insurance and The Sport Industry Group, the organiser of the Sport Industry Awards. They are dynamically engaged, set the agendas, and celebrate excellence within the industry.”
The man behind the Night Rider Trophy, Josphat Phiri hands over his creation to Series Night Rider Kabelo Matsunyane.
Kabelo Matsunyane taking the lead in the third race on Quanabi at the final GTH Live Series event on 2 September.