After a game changing few weeks of high-quality racing action, the highly anticipated second official big race log for the R10 million 2026 Hollywoodbets Gr 1 Durban July has been published.

After an initial 63 entries were received for the 2200m contest on 20 April, the landscape has altered dramatically in the ensuing weeks, with some new names stepping into the big race picture.

After nine scratchings, and with two supplementary entries in the shape of last weekend’s feature winners Zeitz and Aladdin’s Lamp, at the second declaration stage on Monday 8 June a total of 29 thoroughbreds remain in the mix for the 4 July showdown of champions.

The Hollywoodbets Durban July log functions as the official ranking tool used to determine which horses are most likely to be selected for the prestigious race.

The log is compiled by Race Coast’s five-man panel, in consultation with the Handicappers, with the top 20 horses listed in order of preference, reflecting their likelihood of selection at the time of publication.

The balance of nine entries are shown below the top 20 in alphabetical order. A final field of 20 – including 2 reserve runners – will be announced on Tuesday 23 June.

It should be borne in mind that there are a number of key considerations for determining log rankings, including official merit ratings, and in the spirit of transparency, the following should be noted:

• Where an entry was selected by all panel members, that individual is on the log. In this instance, there were 16 entries which received 5/5 votes.
• Entries with a 4/5 vote are next.
• Where there are multiple 4/5 entries, but still in the top 18, then they are included.
• In this instance, there were 3 entries with 4/5 votes vying for the next 2 places in the 18 horse field.
• The next weighting is a Grade 1 win. Hazy Dazy qualifies and she receives the 17^th slot.
• Then we have Grade 1 placed. Minogue filled the 18^th slot.
• The next benchmark would be a Grade 2 win and Grade 2 placed.
• Then follows a Grade 3 victory – this brings Aladdin’s Lamp into 19 on the log.
• We then have entries that received 3/5 votes and, where necessary, the ranking is based on the individual’s best Graded performance.
• In this application of the criteria, where we had two entries with 3/5 votes, Regulation was placed in a Grade 2, which trumps Holding Thumbs victory in a Grade 3.

The top 4 are all the Grade 1 winners, while sophomores dominate the top two positions on the latest table, with James Crawford’s fast rising Star Major at pole position, after his recent victories in the World Sports Betting Gr 2 Guineas, followed by a superb follow-up victory in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000.

Justin Snaith has won the Hollywoodbets Durban July five times and last lifted the silverware in Africa’s greatest race with a member of the fairer sex when Dancer’s Daughter dead-heated with superstar Pocket Power in the 2008 renewal.

The multiple SA champion conditioner finds his 2026 assault on the historic race spearheaded by the dual Grade 1 winner Wish List, who is at 2 on the log. It’s a proverbial fairytale in the making as Snaith trained her sire Legislate to win a dramatic 2014 Durban July, and her regular pilot Andrew Fortune is all set to become the oldest jockey to win the race in the modern era.   

Summerveld trainer Frank Robinson’s 2025 Betway Gr 1 Summer Cup queen Mocha Blend is in position 3, with Corne Spies star Hazy Dazy rounding off 75% of the top quartet for the ladies.

Saturday’s Hollywoodbets Greyville top-liner, the R400 000 Lucky Fish Gr 3 Winter Stakes, formerly run as the Derby, takes on strategic importance on the road to the Hollywoodbets Durban July, with big-race entries Native Ruler, Shoot The Rapids, Holding Thumbs, Tenpenny and Enflame all out to reinforce their claims to a prized berth in Africa’s richest graded race in history.         

The 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July timeline:

•         Final supplementary entries: 11h00 Monday 15 June

•         Weights: Monday 15 June

•         Final declarations: 11h00 Monday 22 June

•         Final field & draws: Tuesday 23 June

•         Public gallops: Thursday 25 June

General admission entrance tickets are on sale via Ticketpro (www.ticketpro.co.za).