As the deadline approached for Racers Grand Prix entries, managers and agents were still trying desperately to get their athletes into the meet, which according to top agent Cubie Seegobin is an indication of the magnitude of the event.

“It’s like Johnny-come-lately. Everybody wants to get on board now because they see what’s happening and the kind of athletes that are coming,” said Seegobin, who is the manager/agent of Yohan Blake and Warren Weir.

Seegobin also has under his wings the likes of women’s 100-metre hurdles World Championship gold medallist Danielle Williams, her sister Shermaine, Anastasia LeRoy, Samantha Henry-Robinson and Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago.

“If you remember the launch and we said the names, people were like, ‘Are you guys actually going to get those people’?” he pointed out.

“I think we have delivered on most of the people. We are getting calls now, people wanting to come to the meet and people who were like ‘Oh this is not going to happen’, and now they really want to get involved,” he added.

The historic Racers Grand Prix became a reality after two years of planning by members of Racers Track Club, headed by Glen Mills. The club comprises athletes such as the legendary Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir — the trio who swept the 200m podium at the 2012 London Olympics.

Title sponsor Jamaica National went on board along with a number of other sponsors, including Digicel, Wisynco, KFC, Jamaica Pegasus, Adidas, Smarts Medical, Main Event, JUTC, Jamaica Observer,TVJ,SportsMax, and Klas FM.

“We wanted it [the meet] to be something in Jamaica that has never been seen. When you are in the Diamond League or World Challenge, you have to stay within certain parameters,” Seegobin said.

“Apart from us being known in Jamaica as the sprint capital of the world, Coach [Mills] wanted to show jumps and throws and stuff like that. He wanted to open the country to look at those kinds of events,” Seegobin continued.

Seegobin stressed that if it wasn’t for the good relationships established over the years by Mills and the pulling power of some of the world’s best athletes, the Racers Grand Prix wouldn’t be able to attract such stars.

“We could never really afford them. But it’s the relationships, whether it’s coach Mills with some of the coaches, or me, with some of the managers or the athletes. And of course, when you have the Honorable Usain Bolt competing, that says a lot for what’s going to happen,” he added.

“I mean, the spotlight is on this meet because he [Bolt] is gonna run. There are no ifs and buts about it, the world is watching to see what he’s gonna do,” said Seegobin.