The way forward at Caymanas Park

Howard Hamilton, Contributor

The committee appointed by the minister of finance to examine proposals for the restructuring of the relationship between the bookmakers and Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) has now submitted its report.

This is a most comprehensive document and no praise is too high for Rudolph Muir and his team for producing a document which can provide the basis for the most far-reaching restructuring of the racing industry. The minister of finance, who has portfolio responsibility for the racing industry, must be commended on the direction which he has taken in attempting to resolve these outstanding areas of contention.

The request for stakeholders to comment on the report is another positive as he seeks to be guided in his decisions on the way forward. Stakeholders will always feel that this current inclusiveness would never have been possible had they not, recently, threatened disruption to the racing programme.

It is important that the minister be guided by two incontrovertible facts:

1) The only source of income available to CTL is that which is generated by the totalisator pool (pari-mutuel). It follows that any dilution of this pool will make it impossible for the promoter to meet its commitments to stakeholders. This is an important consideration for the government to understand, especially at this time when they seek to divest themselves of an industry which they should never have forcefully appropriated. The question to be asked: Would you invest in a company where more than 50 per cent of its production is siphoned off by a third party that makes no meaningful contribution to the cost of that production? This has been the dilemma facing promoting companies ever since our unique brand of 'bookmaking' was legalised in the early 1960s

2) Thoroughbred racing is no longer the dominant player in the gaming sector. It, however, continues to provide an important contribution to the livelihood and career development of a wide range of professionals - veterinarians, jockeys, farriers, trainers and race track managers, all of whom are internationally marketable. The racing industry supports major agricultural investment and makes a significant contribution to the social and economic fabric of this country.

The expenses of satisfying the demands of all these participants have escalated beyond the levels of income which are internally generated. It follows that in order for this industry to survive there must be a comprehensive reform of the tax structure and a contribution from the other gaming activities. In all of this we must never forget that horse racing is still the most popular sport, attracting thousands of people, not only to the track but also to the many off-track outlets scattered all over the island.

Reference document

The report goes beyond its terms of reference and is a reference document for all those interested in understanding the complexities of the racing industry. While we endorse the report, we wish to emphasise some of the recommendations which we see as long-term solutions to a successfully restructured industry:

a) All bookmakers who wish to utilise the data from CTL must do so as agents of CTL and the tax structure must reflect this.

b) All bets offered by CTL and taken by the bookmaker must go into the pari-mutuel pool. It follows that CTL must provide the terminals to support this operation, along with live audio and visual feeds.

c) Bookmakers must pay a rights fee for all bets utilising CTL data and not offered by CTL. This to include any fixed odds bets which bookmakers may wish to offer. This fee to be no lower than the highest fee payable to any other provider of similar data.

Both the bookmakers and CTL will have to realise that it cannot be business as usual. This is the dawn of a new day and the old paradigms have to go. Both the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission and the Jamaica Racing Commission have to realise this awakening and remove all regulations and restrictions which prevent the full participation of bookmakers in the racing industry.

Bookmakers must now appreciate that they are important partners in an important industry and they have a major role to play. They have to clean up their act and remove the negative perception which has been precipitated by their behaviour in the past. Similarly, CTL needs to get its act together - where is the long-awaited elevator? This has been in storage so long that the manufacturers are probably now out of business. We don t want to hear nonsense about "Government this and Government that" - go out, do what has to be done and be man enough to take responsibility for your actions. The stakeholders will be right beside you, and if necessary we will "lock it down", or try to!

This writer wholeheartedly endorses the comments by my "favourite" writer, Gordon Robinson, in his recent column, when he wrote of the excellent job being done by the CEO at CTL. Camile Buchanan is, without doubt,the one shining beacon at Caymanas. She combines beauty and brains into a dynamo that is a breath of fresh air in this quagmire of despair. No praise is too high for the excellent job which she is doing. To her I say: noli illegitimi carborundum.

Howard L. Hamilton is a former chairman of Caymanas Track Limited and is the current president of the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association.He can be contacted at howham23@gmail.com.