THE announced staging by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association (TOBA) of an awards function on Friday night at the Jade Garden Restaurant is the icing on the cake for what is developing as a super weekend of horse racing activities.

On Saturday there is the 37th running of the much vaunted Superstakes with its allied attractions of the Glen Mills Sprint, the Coca-Cola Juvenile Sprint and the Coca-Cola Invitational Mile to be followed on Sunday by the annual yearling sale put on by TOBA.

The new sponsorship of the Superstakes by Burger King has injected renewed life into a race that was slowly slipping in its importance. Now we see many more promotions being done by the fast-food giant, making the Superstakes what it is supposed be – a race of the utmost importance for racing fans and professionals alike.

The yearling sale is always an event to savour with the ‘youngsters’ going through the ring, and the usual haggling between buyers. Again, one can expect a large contingent of buyers from overseas, mainly from Trinidad and Tobago to participate and by doing so, give strong and meaningful support to our local breeding industry, which it vitally needs for its survival especially given the present harsh economic climate.

To be honest, before the announcement of the TOBA Awards to honour individuals who have played a significant role in developing the sport of horse racing, many did not notice, including myself, that the sport was now bereft of any awards ceremony.

In the past there was the None Such Awards usually held in late January or early February to pay tribute to the champions of the previous years. The None Such Awards is no more, with the champions receiving their recognition at the racetrack during the hustle and bustle of a race meeting, thereby rendering the process almost null.

Then too there was the annual Hall of Fame ceremony when inductees in this sacred pantheon were officially given recognition. This induction ceremony has slipped by the wayside leaving racing without a proper awards function. The Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) showed unusual initiative recently with its promulgation of the Diamond Mile – a most welcome and lucrative addition to the racing calendar. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony must now be revived.

That is why the TOBA initiative is to be applauded, supported and appreciated, and while the details of awardees and the selection process are not known at this time by this writer, anything that will assist in building a flagging industry is worthy of note. At least it is an attempt to return some much-needed panache to horse racing.

Racing seems to be on an upward tick. The introduction of the rich Supreme Ventures Diamond Mile, the sponsorship of the Superstakes by Burger King and the renewed publicity given by Supreme Ventures to their two-year-old ‘Triple Crown’ series are superb initiatives which can only serve to uplift horse racing.

The TOBA-led move fills another glaring gap in the process. We look forward to the TOBA Awards and say well done, certainly for now.

More anon.