New man in ARC saddle

Persad Rooplal admits to being a novice in the horse racing industry. Deflecting criticism that he should not be in the saddle, Rooplal is slowly fashioning a plan for an ailing business. 

As newly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of the Arima Race Club (ARC), he has big plans to make Trinidad and Tobago the horse racing hub of the Caribbean. Installed as CEO in December last year, Rooplal openly admits that this is the first time that he has been involved in horse racing. He is a graduate of Ryerson’s University in Toronto where he studied Business Administration. He has worked in the retail industry in both Toronto and TT, his previous job was that of a marketing and management consultant. He was formerly employed at Club Liquid.

He replaced Christopher J Armond, who resigned January last year to take up the position of operating manager and racing secretary of the Barbados Turf Club, the body responsible for managing the horse racing industry in Barbados. Before Rooplal’s appointment, Financial Comptroller of the ARC, Joan Mitchell was acting CEO. Rooplal was chosen by an ARC  management committee which comprised nine people. The committee includes Peter Ganteaume, Emmanuel Lawrence, Derek Chin, Richard Smith, John O’Brien, president, ARC; Dr Jagdis Suratsingh, Tyrone Kowlessar, Neil Poon Tip and Roopchand Chadeesingh, chairman, Betting Levy Board (BLB).  

As green as he is, Rooplal says he is confident that he can turn the industry into a more profitable and exciting one. “I am not here because of horse racing, I am here to administer the horse racing track, there is a difference,” he said in an interview last week at the Santo Rosa racing facility. Rooplal said the industry right now is worth about $60 million and he is going to try and increase that figure. He noted that it is much bigger than the racing industries in Jamaica and Barbados. With this in mind he has embarked on a major campaign which is aimed at promoting the industry. However, he now has to work with small amounts of funding which comes from the Betting Levy Board (BLB). He explained that the BLB has a funding figure of about $136,000. This funding varies from time to time depending on the race card, he said.

Rooplal said the race card was about $280,000 and the BLB provided half of that sum. The other half  had to come from the ARC. He added that last week’s race card was one of the biggest unsponsored cards thay have had in a while. “This is the kind of field that we are looking at for the future,” he said, noting that there were about 120 horses in that racecard. Usually a race has about 80 horses, he noted. “I would definitely like to see the BLB’s contribution to the industry increase. It will give it a major boost,” he said, adding, “the more money they give us, the more money we will have for stakes money and everything else.” But apart from the BLB, the ARC sometimes gets the help of corporate sponsors which sponsor major races like the Easter Guineas and other big races. Sometimes the sponsors’ contribution is more than the BLB’s input, he said, noting that with more money he can speed up the plans he has for the ARC.

Rooplal said that at present the ARC has a massive advertising campaign in place to promote the industry. “We have a couple of newspaper ads and through various promotions we are looking for corporate sponsors. We are doing any and everything to place the industry at the forefront,” he said. Additionally, he said the ARC is building new barns to accommodate new horses. He said the racing body is trying its best to encourage owners to bring their horses to races to increase the stakes. “We have about 120 two-year olds which are going to be ready for racing sometime in August,” noting that these horses are going to be trained for races in July and August.

The ARC also plans to increase the stakes by June and intends to give racing enthusiasts bigger race cards. Rooplal added that in order to encourage more bets, the ARC is developing more off track betting systems (OTB). The ARC currently has 16 OTBs and hopes to increase that number to 20 by the end of the year. As part of its drive to boost the industry, the ARC is also trying to get more women involved in racing, they are also trying to bring back the family atmosphere into racing.

The new CEO said ARC was working on putting a whole new line of entertainment for the family like games for the children and a playground. Additionally, Rooplal said they recently spent $750,000 to upgrade the horse racing track. “The track is now one of the best in the region. It is much better than the two other major centres for racing — Jamaica and Barbados.” In the latter part of this year, the ARC will also be running extra races. Currently they have races three times per month, but Rooplal hopes to have weekly races.

The ARC also has an exclusive cable pay-per-view channel, its aim is to increase public awareness about the sport. Rooplal said proceeds from the station will go towards helping the ARC become more self-sufficient. The CEO said they are also spending money on landscaping the premises. “It is a product that we are developing and it has to be done in all areas — not only horses, stakes and race cards, we also have to make the environment pleasant for people.” The ARC also recently painted the entire grand stand. Rooplal added that sometime later this year, they hope to have a million dollar stake, but he said they are still working on sponsorship. “I am like a beggar looking for sponsorship.”