A specticale of glossy vibrancy and intense exhilaration enveloped in a cauldron of sensual excess that sets the pulse racing. This is the core of J&B Met day at Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town on the last Saturday of January of every year. It’s a gathering of the rich and famous, the fashion junkies and the thousands who seek to explore the intensity of life in the hubbub of the milling crowds. It provides the vehicle for dreams as the masses experience the thrill of the thundering hooves and the brute force of the majestic thoroughbreds as they compete for glory in the greatest race on the southern tip of Africa.

A SHORT HISTORY
It is an experience of passion that draws over 50 000 people to the picturesque setting where for decades the mighty beasts and their diminutive pilots have fought side by side in their quest for victory.

This is horseracing at its absolute best. This is the J&B Met.

The first recorded winner of the Metropolitan Mile, as it was originally known in 1883, was Sir Hercules and, while the race had a chequered existence for many years in the early 1900’s, by the 1960’s it was firmly established as one of the “big three” races in the country along with the Vodacom Durban July and the Sansui Summer Cup in Gauteng.

The race really came alive for those outside of racing circles when in 1978 J&B stepped in as sponsor and the J&B Met as we know it today was born.

And as if to celebrate the dawning of a new era, into the line-up for the race as a four-year-old that year stepped one of the greatest horses ever to race in South Africa, Politician, a magnificent chestnut with an outstanding record. He was the talking point of South African racing and a horse the public wanted to see.

The crowds streamed into the course drawn by the aura of this all-conquering beast and he never let them down. With “Big Race” Bertie Hayden in the irons, he cruised home by 3,25 lengths.

With a stake of R50 000 that year and a sensational finish, the large crowd was thrilled and the foundation was set for the development of the J&B Met into the massive racing and entertainment spectacular that it is today.

And if the thrill of the first J&B Met was not enough, Syd Laird returned the following year with Politician and jockey Bertie Hayden. South Africa watched in awe as possibly the greatest performance by a thoroughbred in South African history was played out before an even greater crowd than the year before. Carrying top weight again – this time under 58,5kg – Politician became boxed as they swept into the home straight. There was nowhere for him to go and with 200 metres of the race left the chances of him getting a run let alone winning looked impossible.

But the strapping chestnut was not to be denied and virtually finding his own way through the horses ahead of him he produced an explosive burst of breathtaking acceleration to catch the champion filly Festive Season just short of the post and beat her by half a length.

It was a performance not seen before and Politician became the only horse ever to win the race twice, until more recently when Pocket Power notched up three consecutive wins.

The roll of honour includes the names of many of the top horses to race in the country including Foveros, Wolf Power, Model Man, Empress Club, London News, Horse Chestnut, Yard-Arm and Pocket Power.
 
As a social function the J&B Met is renowned throughout the country and has become so popular that in 2002 the gates of Kenilworth racecourse had to be closed midway through the afternoon and the “house full” signs put up. More than 50 000 people had crammed into the picturesque venue. 

Like the great sporting and social events around the world, the J&B Met is a celebration of beauty and magnificence - a gathering of the majestic thoroughbreds and the beautiful people who flock to Kenilworth Racecourse in their thousands to be part of the very special occasion.