Dr Graham Brown, president of the Jamaica Owners’ Association, believes that the two changes in the conditions for the third staging of the Diamond Mile will help to increase the competitiveness of the event.

The Diamond Mile, a Graded Stakes event for three-year-olds and upwards for a purse of US$115,000, takes place at Caymanas Park on December 2.

“I think over the two years of the Diamond Mile, the organisers have realised that they have to make the race more competitive. We don’t have a vast number of horses in Jamaica, and if we don’t increase the competitiveness of the race, it will lose some of its attraction.

“That is not good; it is not good for the organisers, it is not good for the promoters, it is not good for the racegoers and even the trainers and owners, and so any move to increase the competitiveness is a good thing,” Dr Brown said.

The first change to the event is that horses will now be selected based on their earnings at designated racing levels or classes. These levels are: Graded Stakes, Open Allowance, Overnight Allowance, and three-year-old Graded Stakes races. All other earnings will not be considered, including stakes earned in claiming races.

“This is all about increasing competition and making the race more competitive for everybody. Without competition, there is no fun and there is certainly no interest. We can enhance the interest by increasing the competitiveness of the race, and that is what I think the promoters are trying to do.

“I think that they have a long way to go still, because frankly you usually can tell who is going to win the Diamond Mile from a month or two out. This year we have two horses from the same trainer who will probably take the Diamond Mile. One of the two horses will win, and that really shouldn’t be the case here.

“We should have a pool of at least five or six horses that are really in the running, and I think that is what is missing from the Diamond Mile,” explained Brown.

The other change to the event is that imported horses domiciled in Jamaica for more than a year will now be given a 2.0 kg (five lb) allowance. The 2.0-kg allowance will be applied based on the performances of the foreigners. The original condition of imported horses carrying 57.0 kg (126 lb) and local-bred at 55.0 kg (121 lb) still stands when the foreign-bred horses are not in Jamaica for a minimum of one year.

“That [change in condition] is also a good thing. We have to accept reality, and the reality is that the horses that are here were probably not brought here for the Diamond Mile. They just happened to be here, and they have this handicap which is imposed upon them regularly.

“Many of those horses are not as good as the local-bred horses; so to continue with the handicap level that we are giving them, not giving them an allowance, simply means that these horses become totally uncompetitive and can play no real part in the Diamond Mile, and so the race itself becomes also less competitive. So this change to give those horses a 2.0-kg allowance is a good idea,” Brown reasoned.