Howard Hamilton
Last weekend, we experienced one of the best promotions on the Thoroughbred racing calendar. Superstakes weekend was just that - a super weekend.
All credit to the promoter and sponsor, MegaFone. MegaFone were getting involved with racing for the first time and they ensured that there association would be a memorable one. And, so it was indeed.
The weekend started off with a novel costume Ball at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel in Port Royal on Friday night. This set the tone for the Mardi Gras atmosphere under the infield tent on Saturday. The new sponsor extended its interest to the yearling sale on Sunday where it provided complimentary 'nourishment' to those that attended the sale.
Congratulations, MegaFone for a job well done. You have recognised the excellent marketing potential of thoroughbred racing and may you continue your involvement for many more years to come.
Visitors impressed
Our overseas visitors were most impressed and carried back many happy memories along with some excellent thoroughbreds from our sale on Sunday.
The racing on Saturday was at its best. The programme was filled with 13 exciting races and none more so than the feature race which saw the unheralded MAJOR MAYER triumphing over the more fancied MIRACLE MAN, THE BOMBER, RUM TALK and DISTINCTLY IRISH who was favourite to win but ran a most dismal race finishing down the track. All credit to the connections of the winner.
Once again, a 'small' trainer has proven that he can produce as well as the big boys once he has the tools. MUSICAL MAESTRO sang us a tuneful melody when he captured the secondary feature, the Caribbean Sprint Championship. He now stamps himself as unchallenged for the 'Horse of the Year' crown.
Notwithstanding, the excellence of the programme, there was an incident in the first race which raises a level of concern. The condition of horses before racing must be such that the public is satisfied that the performance of the animals will justify its investment.
Veterinarians are in attendance to ensure that horses are in a condition which will allow them to perform efficiently. The Jamaica Racing Commission has a vet stationed in the saddling area and the parade ring. The promoters have another vet at the starting gate.
The prime responsibility of these 'professionals' is to ensure that horses are healthy enough to run and so protect the punters' invest-ment. This column has constantly complained of the number of lame horses being allowed to run each week. On Saturday, ROYAL COMMAND, horse number three in the first race, was obviously unfit to race.
The remark was made by one of the visitors from Trinidad who was sitting with me: "That horse will never finish the race", so obviously lame was he. The horse started as an overwhelming favourite and was eventually pulled up halfway through the race.
This is just not good enough and requires some urgent investigation into the gross dereliction of duty by the two 'veterinarians' in attendance.
Successful yearling sale
When confronted later on in the day, the head of the veterinary division of the JRC explained that were they to be that diligent, then most of the races would fall through. He further explained that Jamaica had the lowest incidence of raceday breakdowns resulting in major accidents.
My comment was: "So what? Do we have to have some deaths to convince you to do your job?"
This matter deserves urgent attention. If racing has to close down because there are only paraplegics available to run, then so be it. We cannot continue to put the lives of jockeys in danger nor can we continue to 'rob' the public each week.
Enough of the bad news, now on to a pleasant success story. The annual yearling sale held last Sunday was an outstanding success the numbers offered were the lowest in many years, both the gross sales and average were way above any previous year. A summary of the results is detailed in the chart above.
We are fast becoming 'Breeders to the Caribbean'. The visitors from Trinidad and Barbados contributed more than 20 per cent of our sales and expressed an interest in greater cooperation with us.
They are seriously considering sending some of their stallions and mares to Jamaica since our conditions for breeding are so much better than theirs.
Howard L. Hamilton, C. D., JP, is a former chairman of Caymanas Track Limited. He is the current president of the Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association. He can be contacted at howham@cwjamaica.com.
