Why local racing is bankrupt

THE EDITOR: I am appalled at the arrogance and incompetence of the present administration of the Arima Race Club. On September 24, 2004, Much Tempo, a horse I own jointly with Mr Rupert Leong Poi, won the Royal Oak Derby. Since this is the most prestigious race of the year, the proper protocol would have been for the President of the Club to join the sponsors in the parade ring for the presentation ceremony. He did not and neither did any of the members of his Management Committee.

This was, in my view, insulting not only to the owners and sponsors but also to all stakeholders of the industry. Even if the President of the Club has personal differences with an owner, when the occasion arises, he ought to put these differences aside in the interest of the sport. It is certainly unacceptable for him to use his office to settle old scores. From my information, it appears that this decision to boycott the proceedings was based on an incident, which took place on Derby Day, the previous year. Permit me to clear the air on this.

On that day, the third race was won by one of my horses, You’ve Got Mail. My wife and Mrs Kamla Maharaj who led in the horse, were kept in the parade ring for 17 minutes for the presentation. This was the result of poor planning and execution and an insult to the owners and sponsors. After the Derby, which my horse, Top of the Class won, there was an objection to the fourth placed horse. Since this did not affect the winner, the Steward of the Day gave his approval to make the presentation. The President of the Club overruled him and kept the sponsors, the groom, the trainer, the jockey, the owner and the President of the country in the blistering heat for 22 minutes. Several requests were made to the President of the Club to proceed with the presentation. He refused and in frustration at the continued bungling of simple administrative matters, I left the winner’s enclosure.

This was in my view gross mismanagement, deserving of a public apology. The Club’s President certainly ought to have apologised to our Head of State for keeping him waiting in the sun for so long and for exposing him to a major security risk.
This begs the question, if the management committee of the Club cannot manage a simply trophy presentation how can it run a billion dollar industry? The reality is, local racing is bankrupt.
Unable to pay winning owners
Continuing to depend on handouts from the BLB
Unable to pay its taxes to Government
Unable to maintain its plant and equipment
Unable to increase stakes
The list goes on and on.

I have been involved in local horse racing for 50 years. Over the years, I have owned several horses and have served as President of the Racehorse Owners Association and Chairman of the Betting Levy Board. My heart is in local horse racing. It is against this background I once more offer a solution. The revenue from Local, English and American Horse and Dog racing is very conservatively estimated to be one billion annually. We will give the bookmakers the benefit of the doubt and reduce this to five hundred million. The ten percent taxes payable to the betting levy board ought to be 50 million.

I am proposing that:
(1) Government amends the present legislation to allow this 50 million to be used for the promotion of the racing industry.
(2) The Bookmakers Association determines how much the respective shops would contribute to meet this figure, based on turnover.
(3) The ten percent Betting Tax be abolished.
(4) The Bookmakers determine what charge punters would pay on bets.
(5) Government appoints a Board to promote racing which will employ full-time professionals.
My continued investment in the sport is a clear indication of my commitment to local horse racing. I urge all involved to let good sense prevail and let us focus on saving the industry.

MERLIN SAMLALSINGH
Port-of-Spain