Paul Wright | Time to fix horse racing in Jamaica

The year 2020 has medical connotations as the visual aspect of the written date invokes memories of the medical term for ‘perfect’ vision. Thus, the year is now known as the year of the visionary. What is the ‘vision’ for the future of my favourite sport: Horse racing? The key to the success of the sport is fourfold.

1. An increase in the horse population. We cannot look to the breeders, as in the past five years, the number of farms where horses are bred have declined, dramatically. Less foals are born year after year and the net result is: less racehorses. With three days of back-to-back racing proposed for this year, there are real fears of severely decimated cards being offered for betting in the coming months. Therefore, a concerted effort MUST be made to convince the Government to allow the importation of fillies for racing, duty-free!

2. The fan base of the sport is dwindling. The love of horses initiates the contact in many cases. Then there is the love of excitement. Where else can you find instances of drama and excitement with the spectacle of two, or sometimes three, equine athletes (horses) and their immensely fit and skilful riders (human athletes) straining every muscle as the winning post appears? But –and this is a big ‘but’ – to attract the newcomer to the track is one thing, to entertain him/her and ensure their return is quite another thing. First of all, the ambience at the park must be comfortable, access to food, drink and other essentials easy, and betting should be made easy and hassle-free. Next, if a newcomer is further interested in being closer to the horses, then the stable conditions MUST be conducive to encourage the next step, owning a racehorse.

3. The success of promoting the sport is directly related to the “handle” or in layman terms, the amount of money bet on the races. Sponsorship of race-meets and races helps, but the ‘handle’ determines if the day is a financial success or not. After years of badgering by the president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Howard Hamilton, and others, the promoter last month announced that the takeout from bets on the exacta (horses finishing first and second in the correct order) was reduced by five per cent. The result, a dramatic increase in the dividend returned to the successful punter and immediately, a surge of interest in this exotic bet. Less means more! A factual and financially successful reality when it comes to the pari-mutuel! If this concept is carried over to the other exotic bets, the handle would increase, fulfilling the principal reason for promoting the race-day. Once the term ‘churn’ is understood by a promoter, the handle increases. The first race on any race card should be the easiest one to find the winner of all the races put up for betting in the race-day! The successful punter then bets his winnings initiating the churn, thus the handle increases.

4. The well-being and safety of the participants. Owners are devastated by the catastrophic injuries to their horses that either require euthanasia or prolonged veterinary care and time off racing until fully rehabilitated. The recent surge in catastrophic injuries to the equine and human athletes on show during a race at Caymanas Park has got to be investigated and the findings made available to all and sundry.

INVESTIGATION

It is with immense relief that the chief veterinarian at the Jamaica Racing Commission, Dr St Aubyn Bartlett, has called for a full and revealing investigation for what he terms an unusual increase in leg fractures of horses while competing or in training. What he didn’t call for (but I am sure that he meant) is an enquiry into the injuries received by the human athletes (Jockeys) and to the demand that when these athletes are injured on the track, there is an arrangement with the hierarchy of the University Hospital of the West indies (UHWI) as other sporting organisations have done, thus ensuring that their performers have access to the modern sports medicine facility at that hospital thus ensuring urgent and expert care of the injured athlete (jockey).

There is a lot of work to be done by the promoting company, but it MUST be done, as ignoring or (as is now the norm) saying that ‘soon’ these improvements will come on stream is just not good enough.

Action is needed, NOW.

2020 is the year of the visionary. Let this year be the year of the revival of the sport of kings to its rightful place in the diary of ‘things-to-do’ on a weekend. Racing needs vision. Over to you Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited.