By Cliff Williams, ContributorAFTER PRESENTING huge programmes on Friday and Saturday of last week in conjunction with the sponsorship of Digicel, the promoting company, Caymanas Track Ltd. (CTL), was only able to offer 61 runners on an eight-race programme on its next race card of last Wednesday.
This of course is not a new phenomenon for well-supported programmes on special occasions to be followed by race meetings lacking in perceived competitiveness with many of the events barely making a profit for the promoters, and resulting in hardly any worthwhile business for bookies.
The problem for the promoting company is that the horse population in the majority is now a little long in the tooth, and being so dated as well as lacking in sufficient numbers across the classes, that unless something changes radically in the breeding industry this problem will be with us forever.
During the course of this year, with the increasing popularity of the lotteries, CTL has experienced little or no growth in sales turnover and may very well be going through a period of operating with reduced cash flows, as competition for business intensifies.
At the moment the general argument is that competition from the lotteries is creating havoc with the viability of the promotion of horseracing, it therefore means that something has to be done as CTL must in some way respond to the challenge of a new and certainly more dynamic marketplace.
Obvious what is needed is for CTL to be in a position to stage more race meetings with more competitive programmes but that is not an option immediately given the static size of the horse population and its obvious lack of in-depth talent. The recently announced duty concession on the importation of thoroughbreds offers some hope that eventually, maybe in the not too distant future things will improve to the point where there can be about 150 race meetings each year or roughly three times per week with well supported cards.
At this point one is not sure if there are serious investors or potential ones willing to get involved in what is a risky venture without compelling reasons. Privatisation could be one way of attracting substantial capital but his was promised 13 1/2 years ago by the government and it has still not materialised.
It is really quite extraordinary that it is generally agreed by the owners of the business - the government of Jamaica, the investors in bloodstock for racing and breeding and the professionals working in the industry that there is need for development and modernisation of all areas and yet year in year out nothing happens in this regard. I am beginning to think that maybe everyone is only pretending and is quite prepared to leave things as they are.
For example, this column has been calling repeatedly for a master plan for the development of the industry for the last four years. In fact my calls have only been endorsing what owner Jeffrey Mordecai came up with initially for all I know Mr. Mordecai may have given up hope that there is even table discussion since he has not said anything for some time, and now probably thinks that it is an exercise in futility.
A master plan would envisage a way of financing development, first and foremostly, and this would almost certainly mean a substantial injection of private capital since it is hardly likely that adequate re-investment by the government would be forthcoming. As things stand the industry remains in dire need and nothing that I have heard and seen gives me hope that anything positive will materialise any time soon.
