Ivanhoe "Bobby" Clarke, an outstanding servant of the local horseracing industry has died. He was 71.

He died in his sleep last Sunday morning at 3:30, after showing no signs of ill-effect, from a heart bypass operation he had 26 years ago. Clarke was active up to Saturday before his death, when he visited his farm in the country.

The late "Bobby" Clarke, as he was affectionately called, was a former owner, breeder, director of Caymanas Track Limited, and clerk of the course at Caymanas Park. He was also an executive of the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association of Jamaica (TOBA), and served two separate terms as vice-president - 1982-1989 and 1994-1996.

Clarke became involved with horses, according to his brother Donald McNaughton, between 1968-69 when he owned horses such as Martini and Discord trained by the late JRC chairman Ren Gonsalves. He also owned such outstanding horses as Poetry In Motion, Wild Orchid and Eros.

With a passion for horses and agriculture, Clarke acquired a stretch of pasture lands in the Bernard Lodge area and established Family Farms for the breeding of horses.

Clarke later sold the farm, which became Bombay Stud Farms, to Henry W Jaghai. Clarke, who was a civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, then bought lands in St Mary to go into agricultural farming.

A minute of silence was observed at Wednesday's race meet at Caymanas Park as a sign of respect for his passing.
He is survived by wife Jocelyn, children and grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

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