Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton:

I start by giving God thanks for the life of the late Alexander Hamilton, and offer my prayers for his family. I do know his life story could be one of the best life movies ever.

It is time for us to get the economy going again, and the best place to do so is at Caymanas race track, an area and industry that can be controlled.

In the good old days of the bookmakers ( Pay Bookie Man and Long Shot Kick De Bucket) in the 60s to 80s, most punters of horse racing would purchase their bets by 11:00 am to 11:30 am, and listened to the radio during the day, and if luck was on your side, collect on Monday.

Racing in Jamaica is now run by a company with great financial worth. In 2018, a part of its earnings from the Cash Pot game was $62 billion. Of this the Government got the single major portion of $7 billion, so the present owners of the track should be able to withstand a little tremor, which is a part of any business.

Racing can restart with proper management leading from the Jamaica Racing Commission and with adherence to the rules of racing tied to the licence of the stakeholders.

Within the first month of reopening, Caymanas would be without spectators at the track and off-track, so punters would have up to 12:30 pm to purchase bets by listening to the different radio stations and watching on TV for the results. This month of racing would be the thawing out period due to COVID-19.

On the racing plant, the promoters would be policing the rules of racing and public health to be upheld by the trainers, grooms, jockeys, and other licensed personnel. Breaches of such rules would result in a suspension of the licence.

A lot of owners and trainers are looking at other areas at this time. So, this long delay in restarting races could decide the faith of an industry that benefits over 34,000 Jamaicans on a race day.

Councillor Lee Clarke

Whitehall Division

Kingston 8

leetris51@yahoo.com