22 Apr 2025

Dog race sport fanatics were on Saturday treated to an impressive competition where dogs battled it out under five categories in the Dikoloti Classic Dog Race at Gopong in Borolong area. 

The annual dog race registered 54 greyhounds racing dogs, which competed at a packed Easter extravaganza. 

In an interview, an executive committee member of Botswana Greyhound Association, Keikantse Jacob said the race continued to grow each year as the dogs registered increased. 

“The bigger the dog numbers the more the races, dogs are the core of the game. We have grown in leaps and bounds compared to the last two years. This is the third year we are racing in Good Hope/Mmathethe constituency during Easter Holidays and we are impressed by the turn out,” he said.

When they started in 2022, he said they had only four races in four categories and the numbers increased to five in 2023, while this year ‘we have seen an increase in dogs registration for this race’.

The dogs, he said competed under different categories; the Under 9 months, Under 12 Months, Under 15, Under 18 and those under the Opens commonly referred to as pure racing Greyhound of speed hound, which were the pure studs and the cross breeds.

He appealed for the sport to be regularised and called for other stakeholders to come on board to sponsor more dog races, which he noted added value to variety to the sporting games. 

“We appeal to Ministry of Sport and Arts to recognise dog racing as sport, and register us, and assist us financially to grow this sport,” he said.

Jacob said even though the sport was relatively new as they introduced it to Batswana in recent years, the association organised other dog races all over the country where there was sponsorship, adding that being included as part of the Ministry of Sport and Arts constituency games would be a cherry on top to help grow the sport.

He said dog races added value to community development and had economic trickle-down effect as it was a money-spinner that benefitted small and medium enterprises who sold their products during the races, which attracted throngs of dog race fanatics. 

The sport, he said also promoted cultural tourism, domestic tourism and social cohesion as some racing dog owners came from Selebi Phikwe, Borolong, Francistown, Letlhakane, Mmashoro, Serowe, Thamaga, Ngwaketse, Gaborone and Bobonong. ENDS