The Jamaica Racehorse Owners’ Association (JROA) has come out strongly against the promoting entity of horse racing in Jamaica, Caymanas Track Limited (CTL), over the recent strike by CTL employees which caused the loss of two race days and the payment time of purse money.

The JROA also took the JRC to task over its policy on the licensing of owners which requires a police record. The JROA describes this requirement as a major impediment in expanding the ownership base at Caymanas Park.

In a release issued over last weekend over the signature of president, Dr Graham Brown, the JROA stated that the inaction of the promoting company “precipitated the unfortunate events that recently transpired at Caymanas Park.”

The release further said: “The unannounced industrial action by the employees of CTL has had a negative, significant effect on other persons that earn a living from racing and, of course, the owners of the racing stock who ultimately pay for everything. While we recognise that legitimate grievances exist between the workers of CTL and their employers, and while we uphold the right of all workers to withdraw their labour, we cannot condone any action that, without notice, calculatedly disrupts a race meet. Such actions put at risk the welfare of horses stabled at Caymanas Park.”

On the payment of purses issue, the JROA was even more emphatic, stating that they have been impatient too long and that “all outstanding purses must be paid by the 15th of March, 2016, failing which the owners will take appropriate and drastic action to achieve compliance.”

EDITOR’S NOTE – The full text of the JROA release is published below.

RECENT STRIKE BY CTL EMPLOYEES

The JROA wishes to express no confidence in the management and board of Caymanas Track Limited whose inaction precipitated the unfortunate events that have recently transpired at Caymanas Park Racetrack.

The unannounced industrial action by the employees of CTL has had a negative, significant effect on other persons that earn a living from racing and, of course, the owners of the racing stock who ultimately pay for everything. While we recognise that legitimate grievances exist between the workers of CTL and their employers, and while we uphold the right of all workers to withdraw their labour, we cannot condone any action that, without notice, calculatedly disrupts a race meet. Such actions put at risk the welfare of horses stabled at Caymanas Park.

We are grateful for the professionalism of some employees of CTL whose actions mitigated some of the more damaging consequences of the work stoppage. Of special note were the efforts of the Racing Secretary Mr Denzil Miller and that of Everton Henry and Evon Thompson to maintain the racing surface to allow horses to continue to work throughout the stoppage.

We believe after nomination there should be no disruptive action including strikes, walk-offs, go-slows, etc. Stakeholders and racetrack employees should act responsibly to ensure that the common fabric of the racing industry remains intact even when there is conflict.

PAYMENT OF PURSES

The meagre purses that we are earning, which bear no relationship to the cost of care and training our horses, should be paid on time; that is to say between 14 – 21 days after a horse has won.

We have been patient for too long and we are now advising CTL that all outstanding purses must be paid by the 15th of March, 2016 as outlined above, failing which the owners will take appropriate and drastic action to achieve compliance.

It is wrong that as presently obtains, stakeholders are effectively forced to pay a fee (6½ %) to a private finance company to access legitimate earnings. If a fee must be paid it is only right and proper that CTL pays this fee, borrows the money, and pays owners in a timely manner as prescribed in its operating licence (that should be enforced by the JRC and/or the Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission).

LICENSING OF OWNERS

The requirement to obtain a police certificate (commonly known as a police record) to register as an owner is proving to be a major impediment in expanding the ownership base at Caymanas Park. The JROA has accepted that a criminal history background check of Owners is an unfortunate reality of these times, but we believe the system as currently implemented is unnecessarily onerous.

The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (that licenses racehorse owners in Florida) requires fingerprints to be taken when submitting an initial application to be licensed as an owner, then every five years after the initial fingerprint submission, upon renewal, the owner will pay a fee for his/her data to be resubmitted to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement for an updated criminal history background check. The entire process is conducted at the racetrack, including fingerprinting which is done by a state official using a fingerprint card.

The JRC requires fingerprints to be taken every three years (even though fingerprints never change) and thousands of first-time and renewing owners and part-owners, and other stakeholders, are required to trek to Duke Street and waste the better part of a day to apply for a police certificate. Many owners refuse to do this and more and more horses are being raced under the Trainer’s name or under another licensed owner’s name. Therefore a system which was implemented to identify and monitor the integrity of racehorse owners has had the effect of “hiding” a large number of owners and dissuading a large number of persons from becoming owners. Does this make any sense?

We believe that like Florida a criminal history background check should be done every 5 years and fingerprints should only be required for new entrants into racing. A solution should be found to have fingerprints taken at the racetrack or at the offices of the JRC and it should be the responsibility of the JRC to request a criminal history check on applicants from the police.

We further believe that should an existing owner’s licence not be renewed because his or her police certificate is missing for a credible reason, and his or her horse is entered in a race, the owner should be fined and the horse should be allowed to run and the purse should be held until the owner is licensed. It benefits no one if the horse does not run or if the ownership of the horse is temporarily changed to allow the horse to run.