'Motley collection' is bedrock of horse racing

Vin Lumsden, Contributor

In his column 'Ineptocracy at the racetrack' published in The Gleaner of May 14, 2013, Gordon Robinson, with his usual sarcasm, is highly critical of both Andrew Azar and the trainers at Caymanas Park.

Azar, a director on the board of Caymanas Track Ltd, is criticised for being "confused about his corporate director duties". The trainers, and those who may support them, are described as "the usual motley collection of suspects, together the most significant contributors to the stagnation of Jamaica's racing and its inability to move into the 21st century".

According to Robinson, Azar 'crashed' a meeting called by CTL's CEO with industry leaders to seek solutions to some of the problems and apologised to them for the purse cuts being imposed without any dialogue with the stakeholders. My information is that Andrew was invited by the CEO to lend support. My information is that Azar informed the meeting that the purse cuts were the collective decision of the board and that he voted for those cuts.

Having listened to them, he opined that the imposition of purse cuts, without consultation, was wrong. Bear in mind that these cuts would affect breeders, owners, trainers and jockeys. Was Andrew Azar out of line with the board?

The article acknowledges Azar's contribution to the upliftment of the racing scene at Caymanas Park, stating that "he is absolutely good for racing". He has spent his own money and whatever he could solicit from the business community in a single-handed struggle to improve the face of racing.

Does anyone question whether he is doing this to boost his ego or "acting honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interest of the company" as required by Section 174 (1) of the Companies Act? Azar does not need racing to boost his ego. Truth is, racing needs him.

Gordon Robinson may have tipped the game plan of Matalon and his board when he wrote that, at the meeting, "Andrew bowed to non-existent pressure (a 'lockdown' would actually contribute positively to CTL's bottom line) and actually sought popularity over pragmatism".

HORSES FOR HOUSES?

A good cartoon would have this board salivating over the prospect of getting rid of local racing and its accruing expenses and making money from simulcast racing and, somewhere in the longer term, selling the land for - you guessed it - housing. At this point, perhaps it would be mission accomplished.

It is no secret that the chairman of this board came with a mindset that he was going to cut large spending on racing that the Government had been doing. God bless what spending the Government has been doing on racing over the years.

Even at the outset when Michael Manley bought Caymanas Park for $3m and handed it over to that "motley collection", the sale was via a bank loan which the "motley collection" repaid. Vin Edwards was there at the outset. Where was Matalon?

Yet, if pronouncements in earlier articles by Gordon Robinson are to be accepted, we should be genuflecting to 'Big Joe' and thanking him profusely for selflessly condescending to give his time to solving the problems affecting that "motley collection" in racing. Unfortunately, the evidence of his ability to do that thus far is not convincing.

Mr Robinson would have us believe that the trainers and their supporters were "together the most significant contributors to the stagnation of Jamaica's racing". Contrary to that, however, any examination of the figures will readily indicate the extent to which the trainers, both as trainers and owners, are contributing at their expense to the continuation of racing.

It is no secret that the competition with the bookmakers, or rather bet-takers, over the years has been a drawback to CTL, and the position was desperately aggravated when the Government opened the gates and allowed the bookmakers to compete on a race-by-race basis with CTL. That was virtually sounding CTL's death knell.

Truth is, the Government has never taken any serious interest in racing. Having had occasion to sit in front of a parliamentary committee deciding on matters affecting racing, I will state openly that I was appalled at how little the members of that committee knew about racing. Is it any wonder that CTL got shafted? I won't mention who was the legal expert assisting the bookmakers.

Incidentally, Gordon Robinson is known in racing circles as 'The Terrible Tout'. Need I say more?

Vin Lumsden is a racehorse owner and trainer. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.