VETERAN jockey Paul “Country” Francis, winner of over 700 races on local soil is one of those riders who has ventured on the international circuit to aid his development.

Francis made a return to Caymanas Park on Saturday last, March 23, 2019, to renew acquaintances with local racing and his pigskin colleagues.

“Even though life is looking up elsewhere, Caymanas Park is home for me. The Park was responsible for building me from scratch as it aided my development to the stage where I missed winning a Jockeys’ Championship by a single win. I went on to ride 703 winners to be 11th on the all-time jockeys standing,” Francis said.

However, with the growing number of trained riders populating the track and profitable rides dwindling, Francis found it necessary to ply his trade elsewhere for continuity and to make another step up the ladder of his personal development. He moved to ride at tracks on the North American racing circuit.

He rode for a time in Canada at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba and at Northlands Park, the “Alberta A Circuit” track in Edmonton that recently closed its doors after 113 years in operation.

“I am on a different schedule. Last year when I came back to Jamaica from Canada, I was here for two weeks.

“This year, I will be here for two months, as I’m expect to be in Jamaica to the last week of next month.

“So even though, I wanted to stay, based on the situation at Caymanas at the present time, I would have had to move on as a number of the young jockeys are not getting rides.

“They are not alone. There are other riders who are here, who do not have the opportunity to ride, so some of us can move away and give others a chance to earn their livelihood.

“Basically, right now that is what I am doing, moving away so as to create an opportunity for others who do not have the chance to move overseas in the hope that they will get something to do,” Francis stated.

“Country” explained further: “Establishing oneself and being selfless are quite noble acts up to a point but as I said earlier, several riders are here at the track idle and what they need is help to defuse the situation. The track is populated with riders most of whom may have nowhere, elsewhere else to either turn to or for that matter, nowhere else to go. This is bread and butter for many who are here probably from pre-teen with no other basic skill. So, they just have to stay here. I have somewhere else that I can go and for that reason, I am making way for others. That is one of the main reasons for my concern as riding horses is a tough sport and it is always quite a good gesture to extend a helping hand whenever possible.”

Francis moved from Canada and started to ride in Arizona, United States where for three weeks he was the leading rider at one of the Arizona tracks.

“I was based at Turf Paradise but at one stage, I was the leading rider at the Rillito Park racetrack for three weeks and I will continue to ride at these tracks on my return to Arizona shortly,” Francis said.