Lara bats for ARC ‘Friday Lime’

LOCAL horseracing will have  a one-week break from the Santa Rosa Park, Arima track this weekend. But the nags will be back in action for Day 12 of the Arima Race Club season with the third Friday Lime this year, on April 23. The intention of the ARC is to have the races on the eve of the second one-day international cricket match between West Indies and England at the Queen’s Park Oval. And according to a senior official, World record holder Brian Lara who regained his title with an epic 400 not out on Easter Monday, will attend the lime.

Other top West Indies and some of the visiting England cricketers are also expected to have a day at the races. The ARC will throw out an nine-race programme for the cricketers and turfites. Feature event of the day will be the Starter Allowance for three-year-old West Indian-bred and imported horses over 1725 metres on the turf course, with a total purse of $23,000. There will also be two co-features, a sprint over 1100 metres on the turf for West Indies-bred three-year-olds, with prize money totalling $22,000. The other is also for West Indies-bred horses this time over 1300 metres with the purse being $22,000.

Entries for the day’s programme will close on Tuesday at 9 am. Meanwhile, third and final subscriptions for the $50,000 Mentone Stakes for imported three-year-olds onmly over 1750 metres and the Eric Durant Memorial Turf Handicap over 1725 metres with a purse of $75,000, open to all horses three-years-old and over, were due to be paid up yesterday. Both these races will be run off on May 1 at Santa Rosa Park.