Jorhat, Feb. 5: Eight rounds of races were held on the second day of the Jorhat races at the Gymkhana Club grounds today.

The winners of the races in the two preliminary rounds, held today and on Tuesday, will run in the finals to be held on Saturday.

There will eight races on the final day and the winner of each of these races will participate in the prestigious Governor’s Cup, which will start at 1pm. Governor Shiv Charan Mathur is scheduled to attend the event on the final day.

The organisers said while 12 horses (read ponies) ran in the first six rounds of the races held today, 10 horses took part in the rest.

Although the crowd today was far below the expectations of the organisers, they are hopeful that the final day will see a huge turn out.

“Since the nearby tea gardens would declare a half-day holiday because of the finals, we are expecting a big crowd,” an organiser said. Besides, he said, local people of the town were expected to attend on that day.

“More people actually come to see the finals, which provide more excitement and the adrenaline runs high among spectators and the jockeys alike,” he said.

Haren Tai, one of the jockeys, who won five of the eight races on the inaugural day, struck again today by winning three races.

About 100 horses participated in this year’s event, dubbed the oldest sporting extravaganza in the region.

As part of the event, a car rally will be held tomorrow. It will be flagged off from GL Resort near Kaziranga National Park at 11am and will end at the Gymkhana Club grounds. Most of the participating teams are members of the club.

On Wednesday, which was a rest day, the organisers arranged a six-a-side football match among the club members, tennis matches and a dog show at the club ground.