What is turning out to be a long and drawn out process regarding the divestment of Caymanas Track Limited (CTL), including a botched official signing ceremony is now slated to be consummated by early next week.

This according to the chairman of the divestment committee entrusted with the task of putting the final touches to the divestment of the government- owned company and sole promoter of horse racing in Jamaica, Arthur Williams.

Williams told trainers at a United Racehorse Trainers Association (URTA) meeting on Wednesday at Caymanas Park that he was at the URTA assembly purely by chance having “arrived back in the country on Tuesday morning for important meetings with the investor, Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL), to formalise all the arrangements, ticking all the dots regarding the divestment of CTL before a public statement is made”. Williams then stated that he expects an announcement regarding the CTL divestment to be made by the earliest Monday of next week when the details relating to the divestment will be made public.

During the meeting, URTA members peppered Williams with a number of questions regarding the pending divestment in what the trainers said was a genuine attempt to quell the many rumours circulating, especially about their role as stakeholders after the takeover of the racetrack by SVL.

One of the main areas of concern the trainers voiced had to do with the cleaning and general maintenance of the stable area, as they had heard that after the divestment, they would be responsible for paying or least contributing financially to the maintenance of the stable area.

Williams, in answering the concerns of the trainers, said that he could not respond to any rumor-mongering, as not all elements of the divestment had been finalised and, as such, no official statement will be made until the completion of discussions with the parties concerned.

After the meeting the CTL divestment committee chairman said the exchange of views with the trainers was timely, useful and successful.

“The short meeting went well. I thought the trainers asked some searching questions and I thought that they understood that the process has to be completed before making the details public.

“In addition, I was very happy to observe from the many comments that they offered, that the trainers strongly believe that the entity slated to take over the promotions of horse racing in Jamaica will do well for the industry,” Williams said.

URTA executive member trainer Bernard Vincent was pleased with Williams’ visit: “It is good that the government recognises that we as stakeholders should be getting answers, for we are the main cog in the wheel of production. We are the production people of horse racing who put in a lot to keep the industry alive, and it is expected that we should be contacted when any form of divestment is taking place”.