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Racing at Caymanas on indefinite lockdown

Published:Saturday | March 21, 2020 | 10:40 PM
The Grandstand at Caymanas Park in St Catherine without spectators as racing progressed throughout the day at the venue on Tuesday, March 17. This is because of measures put in place by the Government to facilitate social distancing as the nation deals with the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Ainsley Walters
The Grandstand at Caymanas Park in St Catherine without spectators as racing progressed throughout the day at the venue on Tuesday, March 17. This is because of measures put in place by the Government to facilitate social distancing as the nation deals with the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Promoters Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), in a release tonight, said that operations at Caymanas Park will be closed ‘until further notice’ effective Saturday, March 21, 2020 at midnight.

SVREL said it had been in dialogue with its regulator, the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) since late Tuesday, March 17, when the agency released a notice to the public that “all gaming lounges, betting shops and bars with gambling machines must close,” effectively shutting down the Off Track Betting (OTB) network.

The company said it shut down its Offtrack Betting (OTB) operations but was given the go ahead to reopen on Thursday, March 19, after the BGLC chairman announced a retraction of the notice on Wednesday, March 18.

However, SVREL said its operations were again “unfortunately affected during spectatorless racing on Saturday. SVREL says police shut down several OTB operations across the country.

SVREL general manager Lorna Gooden said the situation had become ‘untenable’.

“While we have tried to cooperate fully with the orders as we understand them, the situation has become untenable," she said. "Based on the feedback coming from our retailers, the security forces seem to be unclear regarding the position of the regulator."

The promoters said the track will continue to house and exercise horses, while ensuring that those personnel adhere to the social distancing and other required public health protocols.