Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
Miracle Man, ridden by leading all-time jockey Winston Griffiths for trainer Allan 'Billy' Williams, romps the 65th running of the Lotto Classic for the Governor's CUp over 2000 metres at Caymanas Park last Saturday, to be a leading contender for the June 4 Jamaica Derby. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
CHAIRMAN OF the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, Walter Scott, promised that by Saturday of this week, State Minister for Finance Fitz Jackson will have received a recommendation from the evaluation committee regarding the Caymanas divestment bid.
Scott, who is head of the evaluation committee, told The Gleaner that the process is almost completed.
The committee will decide which of the two bidders the Richard Lake-led Horsemen Limited or Richard Azan/Supreme Ventures Caymanas Entertainment Limited is successful.
Their intitial bids to the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ) last year failed to reach the 73.5 threshold and both were rejected by the Government in early December.
At that time Minister Jackson told the bidders they could re-submit by early this year and the process was extended to include other bidders. However, only the two original bidders were interested in the re-run.
Scott revealed that one of the two bidders scored 70.3 out of a possible 100, which fell just short of the required threshold, while the other scored only 57.0.
He went on to explain that the evaluation committee has co-opted two additional members for the latest round - Michael Muirhead and well-known racing man, Jeffrey Mordecai, an attorney-at-law.
According to Scott, part of the condition laid down by the committee is that "there must be no dislocation of racing " if and when the successful bidder starts the process of transforming Caymanas Park into a modern Racing and Entertainment Complex, featuring gaming lounges, theatres and a sports centre to compliment the racing product.
