Cliff Williams, Contributor

In last week's column, I returned to the subject of the important differences between how the punters in other racing capitals of the world are treated in terms of information flow as opposed to local bettors, for whom scant and seemingly almost callous disregard is displayed too often.

For those who may have missed it, I dealt mainly with the use of the tongue-tie by trainers to enhance performance and the fact that the Jamaica Racing Commission has removed it, erroneously in my view, from the list of important declarable equipment.

I also raised the matter of horses turning up after an extended lay-off and being declared to run without any recent exercise gallops being reported - a state of affairs that is not allowable in many racing jurisdictions.

Then I also discussed the late substitution of jockeys after the first choice was deemed ineligible for one reason or another at initial declaration time. In these cases, I think the trainers so affected should be required to find the replacement at least 24 hours before the post time of the first race so that the information can be made public.

With the initial declaration done fully 48 hours before post time, there can be no good reason why this should not be the requirement.

Information

The point here is that against the background of the Pick-Nine and Super-Six emerging as the most important wagers, all information must be available so that punters are at least given the opportunity to make informed decisions before staking their bets.

I had a discussion with chief operation steward Lloyd Cobran on my position as far as the tongue-tie issue is concerned. Frankly, I found his attitude a little difficult to understand.

What Mr. Cobran is concerned with is that if the tongue-tie becomes loose, the horse would have to be declared a non-runner if this piece of equipment cannot be replaced in time. In fairness to Mr. Cobran though, he did say that he was prepared to listen to any workabl but rules cannot be crafted to address exceptional circumstances.

Fairplay

May I be a little presumptuous and use this opportunity to remind the officers of the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) and the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission that their primary responsibility is to guard jealously the integrity of the racing and other gaming products in such a manner that the appropriate perception of fairplay and protection for the public is maintained continuously.

It would seem to me, therefore, that the chief steward and most certainly the chairman of the commission, should be more concerned with the fact that there is overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence, both here and abroad, that the use of the tongue-tie, once removed from the list of declarable equipment, can be manipulated to influence performance positively or negatively depending on which result is desired.

Equipment checks

Surely it cannot be beyond the scope of the promoting company to appoint someone competent to perform the function of replacing equipment at the starting gates if it becomes necessary. This position could even be developed into one where such an appointee routinely makes a final check of all equipment, including the saddles, just prior to the start of each race, to reduce the possibility of problems during an event.

With respect to replacing the tongue-tie by someone other than the trainer, a foolish argument surfaced that such a person would have the opportunity to administer a prohibitive substance to a horse at that point.