Cliff Williams, ContributorIT IS abundantly clear that things are far too quiet in the local version of the Sport of Kings these days as the stakeholders are obviously waiting for something to happen rather than take a proactive approach to the issues that confront development of the industry.
One would have thought the primary investors would be sufficiently moved to demand that government deliver a decision on the proposed privatisation of the business side of the industry.
It is as if these stakeholders are entirely happy with the lack of development at the 46-year-old racing facility and are quite prepared to wait patiently while government takes an inordinately long time to make a decision as to which of the two potential investors should be allowed to operate the racing plant.
It was exactly two years ago that the Jamaica Racehorse Owners Association (JROA) threatened to discontinue the nomination of horses in pursuance of their position that they simply could not continue without an increase in purse money.
After the resolution of that particular matter, the membership fell silent as if to suggest that having met that objective there was no other issue. I suppose we will be hearing from this august body when inflation ensures that purses become inadequate once again.
LITTLE MOTIVATION
There is lot coming out of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) as sitting president Howard Hamilton, a columnist for this publication, has sought to provide leadership in terms of propagating ideas as to where the industry should be heading. It would seem, however, that his ideas and exhortations is not enough to motivate concerted action from the other stakeholders.
The Jamaica Racehorse Trainers Association (JRTA), led by the combative and very vocal Vin Edwards, has been pressing government for clarification, whatever that means, on its status and rights when divestment becomes a reality.
Edwards has even gone as far as to demand a six-month delay in awarding the lease until certain matters, relating to the trainers, are in place.
One is not sure what Edwards is asking for but he has to be commended for trying to ensure that once divestment takes place there will be at least a measure of understanding between the new investors and the trainers and other professionals.
In the meantime, things continue on a routine basis with everyone, except the new potential investors, enduring the seemingly interminable wait as government clearly is in no hurry to award the lease of the racing plant to one or other of the two bidders.
The question has to be asked as to why stakeholders have been so passive in their approach to government's handling of the matter. One almost gets the impression that the consensus amongst them is that there is no immediate need for divestment and it can be business as usual indefinitely.
LESS QUALITY, QUANTITY
Truth be told, racing in Jamaica has always been conducted on the basis of being an activity pursued by amateurs, supporting an equine population that only allows for about a thousand races annually with a rather high number being unprofitable especially since the flawed decision to operate a claiming system became effective 13 years ago.
Since that time, many investors in the breeding industry have not bothered to continue their involvement, leaving the promoting company with less, in terms of quality and quantity in the equine population, from which to offer competitive racing on a weekly basis.
Wagering on racing held outside of Jamaica through simulcast is now a six-day a week activity, contributing 40 per cent of the promoting company's sales turnover and yields higher margins than the staging of live meets, ensuring its continued viability to a certain degree.
This is where the new investors will be hoping to maintain viability as the plan to operate racinos may take some time to prove viable.
As things stand, the existing equine population can hardly provide competitive racing on a sustained basis and one wonders what the new investors will be able to do to improve it in a short time.
We are hearing about the wholesale importation of horses to bring about an immediate improvement in the quality of the racing product but to me this sounds rather expensive and unsustainable.
As far as I am concerned it is going to take a concerted effort, not only from the new investors, given the huge initial outlay of capital needed for modernisation but from all the stakeholders to lift the local version of the Sport of Kings into a 21st century operation.
