The Carnival season is behind us, so the racing season sets itself down for serious business and the 40-day Lenten period. As we commence the season, it is customary for believers to be asked to commit themselves to the trinity of prayer, penitence and alms giving.
Each of those commitments seem very relevant, giving the current state of the racing industry. As we entered into the Carnival season, promoters of the sport were given a reprieve by the racehorse trainers, who had threatened to boycott the programme.
No sooner had that reprieve been given than it was reported that another racehorse had been found with the prohibited substance Dex in its system, following a win on one of the early race days.
While the connections of that horse ponder their future, it has brought the issue right back into focus. The reprieve was based on representations that the Racing Authority (TTRA) would address the matter expeditiously in the coming weeks.
Almost two weeks have passed since that date and no further news has been heard.
The promoters must be praying that the racehorse trainers will continue to lose their battle when it comes to boycotting races and therefore continue to accept any excuse masquerading as an explanation for the lack of action. Although the trainers continue to jeopardise their long term future in exchange for short term pleasures, they must eventually realise that nothing of substance is gained without sacrifice. Their own penitence if you want to look at it that way.
Racing was scheduled for Saturday and entries taken without hardly a peep from the trainers, so it remains to be seen if February 28, will represent the last stand at the OK Corral.
One of the issues that remain uppermost in the minds of turfites is the continued disagreement over the treatment of Jamaican bred horses in the classic races here.
A number of newspaper reports coming out of Jamaica indicated that horse breeders in that country were apparently up in arms over the proposed treatment of the Jamaican bred horses and were apparently lobbying their High Commissioner for some sort of approach to be made to the local political class in this country.
The response of the Jamaican breeders prompted me to do some further research into this matter and my major finding surprised me.
While the Trinidad Classics have been open to West Indian bred horses, almost from inception, the same is not true of the Jamaican classics.
The Jamaican classics are restricted to NATIVE bred horses only. There are a number of major events which are open to all West Indian bred horses (such as the SuperStakes) but the key is that the three-year old classics are NOT. I find it somewhat hypocritical that the Jamaican breeders (and some local purchasers) can be up in arms over the proposed revised approach by the Trinidad authorities while having no issue with the approach adopted in Jamaica.
I think it is fair to say that if the local classics were restricted to Trinidad bred horses only, the local breeders would be forced to invest in a higher quality breeding stock because Trinidad owners might now start going to Jamaica (as well as the USA) to purchase mares in utero. These mares would clearly stay in the country thereafter or could be exported to Jamaica to be bred by one of their better sires before returning to this country.
We might even see Jamaican breeders being forced to invest in acquiring land in this country to establish either satellite studs or re-locate their breeding operations. If Trinidad is the main source of business, then relocate to this market.
I know it all sounds a bit much but the reality is that Jamaican breeders have the advantage of having their horses eligible for classics in virtually every country in the Caribbean while having their own classics closed off to horses bred in the other Caribbean countries. Something is surely WRONG with that. I am now convinced that while NOTICE needs to be given to safeguard those owners who would have bought horses in Jamaica with the current understanding, come 2016 or 2017, the Trinidad classics should be for NATIVE bred horses only and we can put on some additional major races (if needed) that are open to West Indian bred horses only.
We say West Indian bred but we know it is only Jamaican bred horses that those races are meant to include because Barbados bred horses are not competitive on the non-turf races. It is time that the alms giving be restricted to our local environment.
The final issue I will comment on is the multiple roles played by various people in administration. For reasons that we still do not know, the president of the Arima Race Club (ARC) resigned suddenly.
An interim president, of whom very little is known, was recently appointed. At the same time, we have people in leading administrative roles who are also racehorse trainers, framers of races, track maintenance managers, and general jacks of all trades.
We know that the country boasts of nearly full employment but no one believes the official statistics for numerous reasons. One reason is that the explosion of CEPEP has distorted the labour market in this country.
It seems it might also have distorted the labour market at the Arima Race Club. Like the Copyright Music Organization (COTT), the Arima Race Club remains a private organisation, operating under the sobriquet of a national umbrella organisation.
Unlike COTT, the ARC does not represent itself as a non profit organisation so it must be in the business of making money. The individuals who act in various capacities can therefore be presumed to be there to help the ARC make money.
How can they be there to help the ARC make money, look after their own interests (presumably to make money) and look after the interest of the punters, trainers, owners (who all want to make money also).
There is bound to be a trade off! There is only so much alms to go around. Are we going to wait for a scandal to eventually address?
Party Done...!
Racing was scheduled for Saturday and entries taken without hardly a peep from the trainers, so it remains to be seen if February 28, will represent the last stand at the OK Corral.