The following article was taken from a recent edition of the Trinidad Express.

In its bid to stave off bankruptcy, the Arima Race Club’s (ARC’s) management committee are on track to slash stakes money in three Graded races, while the Distaff for fillies will be cancelled.

The Express has learned that stakes in the Oaks and the Champion Stakes will be cut, and stakes in races in the bracket of 70 and over will also be slashed.

Compounding the club’s financial woes is its inability to meet staff salary commitments.

So far this year, staff have been receiving half pay. However, the Betting Levy Board (BLB) has come to the rescue of staff members.

Reached on the proposal by the ARC to cut stakes, Baskaran Bassawh, President of Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) said, “Trainer John O’Brien mentioned that to me, but it is nothing official. The club wants to reduce the stakes. I told O’Brien it should not be done that way. It is crisis management. Cutting stakes is not the right thing now. We need to come up with solutions.”

Betting Levy Board (BLB) chairman Kama Maharaj also disagreed with cutting stakes.

“I do not think we should cut stakes, and certainly not at the lower level. I would try my very best for that not to happen.

“We the BLB had suggested some other races, now because the revenue has fallen, they (the ARC) have to take a decision on those races. The only thing we told the club (is) run it as a business, and increase their betting handle and reduce their cost. We saw and predicted this will happen, but they did not take the advice of the BLB.”

Asked why the club cannot meet stakes payments Maharaj explained: “Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Jackson informed the club about our financial situation since we did not have a board in place since last year.”

Maharaj added: “The industry is now strangled because of the BLB’s inability to collect the taxes they were supposed to collect. The Gaming Bill was going to correct that, but it was not passed. The bookmakers did not want us to regulate them. The non-passage of the Gaming Bill is what put the whole industry in serious crisis. The main shortfall is the collection from private betting shops, and that is because of the non-passage of the Gaming Bill.”

The Express has been reliably informed that the Club intends to convene a meeting of the industry’s stakeholders next week to inform them of the cut in stakes. Attempts to reach ARC president Linford Carrabon yesterday were unsuccessful.