The quality of local horse racing continues to slide downhill and the Arima Race Club (ARC) continues to illustrate that it is completely bereft of ideas to resuscitate the sport. Every race day thus far, the betting public is being forced to consume the poorest quality race cards imaginable at any one time in the history of this sport in this beautiful country, T&T. In spite of this, the ARC continues to schedule races virtually every Saturday as if it is all okay in the racing industry.
While the ARC could argue that they are trying to keep the sport alive and provide a source of income to the players in the industry, the reality is that they are turning away more and more punters from the local sport. People, I am made to understand, are throwing their racing programmes (which has incurred a 25 per cent increase in price) in the dustbin and walking out of Santa Rosa Park, while vowing to never return. There is an old saying that if you have nothing good to say, you should say nothing; the parallel in horse racing would be that if you cannot put on a quality fare, then you should not put on anything at all or at best limit the damage, instead those at the ARC, either don't know this or perhaps don't care, because the fairy godfather, the Betting Levy Board (BLB) is always there.
Let us examine the last four days of racing. There were 31 races in total over that period. Of these 31 races: one (three per cent) was a graded stakes event over 1,800 metres; three (ten per cent) were eligible for horses rated higher than 85; two (seven per cent) were eligible for horses rated higher than 70; three (ten per cent) for West Indian or T&T bred three-year-old maidens; one (three per cent) was open for all TT bred three-year-olds; one (three per cent) for Imported Maidens; four (13 per cent) were eligible for horses rated higher than 55; and the remaining 43 per cent were for horses rated 55 and lower. We are talking about races for four-year-old and over Maidens, claiming races for as low as $4,000, races for horses rated between 30 and zero. And we are not talking about just one such race per days obviously. The quality of the local card is so poor that it is probably arguable that those race fans with the subscription channel now spend more time on Channel 998 (rather than 999) which is dedicated to the foreign/American racing product. In their attempt to provide some local racing fare on a near-weekly basis, the ARC is in fact killing the local racing fare. Attendance at the local racetrack is very poor, even when there is one feature race on the card. The reality is that people are not going to come to the racetrack or tune in on their television to see horses of poor quality race in races that are not competitive. People like to see one of two things, either quality horses race or very competitive races. Does the ARC believe that they are providing either of those two? And if so, can someone tell us which one of the ARC officials is living on cloud cuckoo land? I am not privy to the accounts of the ARC but it does not require a rocket scientist to know that the club must require a minimum turnover on a raceday to cover its daily expenses. The question is, is this turnover being earned on the local races?
For this calculation, I trust the finance people at the Club would exclude the money wagered on the foreign races since those monies could be earned even if there was no local racing and all gambling took place at the OTBs. I am confident a loss is being earned on almost every local raceday. Driving past the racetrack on a Saturday has given me that confidence as well several callers and also many discussions with owners, who now only attend racing when their horse is running and leave immediately after. The carpark at Santa Rosa Park in Arima is less than a quarter full these days. Simply put, since there is a dearth of quality horses, the ARC needs to revise their racing calendar. We do not have the horse population to support 40 odd days of racing in this country. At least, we don't have the population to support 40 odd days of attractive and competitive horse racing. The solution is to reduce the number of racing days. Take a leaf out of the books of the Barbadians, and stagger our race days. Let us have local racing every other week. Our animals will get a chance for a rest and we may be able to put on more competitive low quality races. To the extent that the reduction in race numbers is not accompanied by a reduction in the total purse, we may be able to have higher value races which could redound to the benefit of the sport, if owners feel incentivised to source higher quality stock. As it stands now, if I am concerned about the welfare of animals currently in horse racing. There are owners and trainers who are entering their horse, week in, week out, without any care for the well-being of the animal. These men (and yes it is men not women) are beasts.
We just have to look at the excitement created when a new potential imported star is unearthed, such as Gabby's Gold and in 2011 there was Signal Alert and Readbetweendlines and many others in prior years, to understand what is possible. The Ocala Yearling Sales are just around the corner in March and April and some owners will be considering their options. At this stage, many of them may be indifferent towards putting out the requisite investment (upwards of TT$175,000 to TT$225,000) when they look at the state of the industry and the absolute lack of interesting stories. It seems that the only decent stories on racing are the negative ones which portray the industry in a poor light. In this respect it is also very unfortunate that racing coverage in the media, this paper excepted, has been reduced to second hand stories pulled off the internet or gossip gleaned from third party interactions. Some newspapers which were renowned for the quality of their coverage of the local racing scene has seen their coverage reduced to internet extracts at best and worst outdated information. This is very sad indeed but really also speaks to the overall lack of interest in the local horse racing industry. Even the recount of the daily gallops seems to be a hit and miss affair. Maybe the ARC should consider securing some sponsorship to have a regular column in the newspapers listing the correct gallops results for those punters who are not internet savvy. The ARC should also consider using the two racing channels at their disposal to generate some revenue. While advertising revenue is remote since you need a viewership to convince advertisers, surely the club's professional staff could come up with innovative ways of generating some revenue. It may have to start with free promotions and once interest is created, look to expand upon that in the future. The club also has a database of members to whom it can send e-promotions.
They can consider using that database of prominent business people and ask for their thoughts and ideas on horse racing improvements. Others have done more with less. As I said at the outset, the club is bereft of ideas. They continue to roll out same old same old in the framing of racing and their thoughts are as predictable as night and day. So it can be hardly surprising to them that they continue to get the same results. Horse racing as with everything else is about innovation, the Club seems content to let it continue to be about handouts and favours. There is no future in that and in fact, that has most likely led to the sort of disillusioned management that exists at the moment. The ARC gave a three month extension to their CEO, other than to warm the chair, it is not clear what useful purpose that will ultimately serve, unless it is that this country is so short of quality managers. The local industry needs ideas. The local industry needs imaginative promotions to bring the crowd to the track, even when the quality of the racecard is poor. The local industry needs better media coverage. But maybe, above all else, the local industry needs new administration! There is the need for this change to help horse racing to flourish and not just exist day by day with limping strides and the aid of the BLB money walking stick if we are to witness a growth in the horse racing scenery. At the moment, there is not much encouragement for young owners seeking to experience the first time thrill of being involved in horse racing and this pleasurable relationship could be lost in a society where there is so much mistrust and questionable practices in horse racing. The situation involving the December 2011 Gold Cup winner – Boogie Blues – is a case in point, and the longer this matters remains outstanding and not resolved, people will further cast doubts and comments on the ARC management team. Let me emphasise that this matter will not easily go away or will not be allowed to die a natural death. There must be a collective and agreeable, but transparent end brought to this if the integrity of the sport is to remain.
A few good men are needed to step forward and transform the sport of horse racing, it is now left to be seen if indeed these good men will come forward and assist the sport in the way forward.