The racing homing pigeon is a finely tuned athlete with a unique set of abilities.

These thoroughbreds of the skies do not only fly fast — possessing the potential to reach speeds of up to 100km an hour — but they must find their home lofts from places they have never been before.

How they do it is still one of the great riddles of modern science.

But there are many contending theories how these winged sprinters navigate the great wilderness above, zipping across it at breakneck speed.

Some researchers believe the pigeon uses the earth’s magnetic field to orient, others argue it relies on visual cues, while another school of thinking is that the bird simply follows it nose, picking up familiar scent marks as it darts for home.

There are those who believe that the homing pigeon uses a combination of all these weapons built into a complex navigational nerve centre.

Whatever it is, the homing pigeon continues to amaze and mystify.

The love for the bird, in all its breeds, is an endearing passion for humans and racing it raises the stakes.

Pigeon racing is an age-old sport and many dedicated fanciers across the globe keep the specially bred birds in the air in a robust spirit of competition.

In Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, pigeon racing is flying high among grand prix sports. In South Africa, for example, there is a one-loft race with prize monies of US$1 million ($150 million), believed to be the richest bounty in the world.

Closer to home in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the sport is kept alive by a cohort of clubs that compete in weekend races for bragging rights, trophies, and relatively modest prize monies. But more than anything else, it is the love of the racehorse of the sky lanes that keeps dedicated fanciers hooked.

In the case of Jamaica, there are two main clubs operating in the Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine areas that are providing lift for a sport that has struggled to stay afloat against rising maintenance costs.

The Jamaica Racing Pigeon Federation (JRPF) and the Jamaica Racing Pigeon Union (JRPU) are flying the flag of the racing game on the island, though there are other small clubs scattered around the island and compete regionally.

President of the JRPF Moses Barnes says the high cost of maintaining the birds and poor public awareness has hindered a full take-off of the true sport of kings.

The nutrition of the bird, he reasoned, is a major factor as specialised feed and supplements come at considerable costs. Rising costs in building material, too, impacts the expensive layout associated with providing proper homes for the birds, plus breeding and competition preparation adds to the bill.

With no corporate support or waivers from government on imported items, the racing pigeon man must dip deep into his pocket to cover the soaring costs.

“The sport is expensive because we are a non-profit group and rely on entry fee from our members and fund-raisers to offset expenses for the races. Mind you, there are times when I must spend a little more for the show to go,” Barnes told the Jamaica Observer.

The St Thomas-born Barnes, who now resides in St Catherine, says there have been overtures to engage corporate interest, but the low-profile nature of the sport has stymied those efforts.

“Some of the members have made approaches [to companies], but because the sport is not well known, help is dormant,” he noted.

Barnes, who operates Topflight Loft, says the inability to import “quality products”, including full bloodline birds, is also a mitigating factor.

“One of the biggest challenges I think we face is not having access to the quality of products we would want to give the birds that was designed for them because at our ports of entry, the customs officials have no knowledge of the sport, hence things like vitamins won’t get through,” he lamented.

Fanciers would also like to freely import specialised feeds for the birds, but that has been an expensive exercise, so creative ways must be found to address the need.

“We have a feed supplier in Montego Bay, but some fanciers buy other products and create their own mix,” Barnes said.

The JRPF boss, who runs a plumbing business, said much of the rich traditions of pigeon racing in Jamaica is dissipating with the generations of breeders and fanciers before, claiming that except for a few, young men are not interested in flying pigeons.

Barnes admitted, however, that perhaps enough information on the sport is not out there to attract a new generation of fanciers.

“Young men of this generation are different, or maybe it is that they are not exposed enough to the sport. Also, it is expensive to get started, for example, it could take as much as $70,000 to start a loft construction and to buy birds, so today’s youths would maybe laugh at us when they consider the expense,” he reasoned.

On the competition side, JRPF secretary Brian Martin hopes to make a flying start in defence of his 2021 title of Champion Bird and Champion Loft.

“Winning champion bird and champion loft was a big achievement for me being that the year when I won it that was my first-year racing pigeons. My aspiration for a 2022 racing season is to defend my championship in both categories,” he said.

Martin, who flies out of DreamTeam Loft, says the club and the sport could get a big boost with new members and there is a drive underway to woo greater participation.

“I would like to see the club going forward with more members. I would really like the JRPF to be a well-known club. A lot of people here in Jamaica still don’t know about racing pigeons, and we need to change that.

“We have a plan in place to get new members to join our club, and this season when we are on break (from competition), we will be pushing very hard to find new members for the following 2023 season. We just named Andre Headlam our public relations officer, so the committee members will be meeting a few times to plan how we can get a few members to join our club and also to get sponsorships for the club. Also, prospective members can reach us on our Facebook page at JRPF and Instagram at Official_jamaica_racing_pigeon,” shared Martin, a loans officer.

Meanwhile, Tyrone Mutler of Mutler Family Loft out of Windsor Heights, has made a great start to the season winning two categories of preparation races recently from a toss in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, to the Spanish Town area of St Catherine, some 50 miles.

“There is no secret, really to be successful, but one must keep a few key things in mind and that is always to acquire birds from preforming bloodlines, keep the birds healthy all year round and make sure they are happy and comfortable,” he said.

Mutler, an engineer by trade and Triple Crown winner, says he got hooked on pigeons because they offer him “peace of mind”.

“Once you love the birds and know the capability of them, the passion will always be there,” he stated.

“When I send my birds for a toss (a release from away from home), especially a first toss, you don’t know what to expect. But it is a delightful feeling to see the birds coming home from a toss or a race,” Mutler added.

Kishan Chin of Ensom876 Loft, who was a category winner in the Santa Cruz race, reflected on the event and the performance of his Staf Van Reet hen.

“It was a difficult race being there was a lot of crosswinds, so the birds had some trouble, but my hen made it first and she was very tired but recovered quickly. I was just happy to see that she made it back and it was an adrenaline rush when your birds finally come home,” said Chin, a bus driver with the Jamaica Urban Transport Company.

The new competitor echoes the sentiments of his colleagues of wanting to see the sport reach new heights.

“I want to see more knowledge of the sport to be more out there. Sometimes when you tell people you race pigeons, they ask if the birds run,” shared Chin.

Most club members race the top Belgium bloodlines of Staf Van Reet and Janssen. Also, they breed and compete with the Dutch bloodline of Jan Aarden, or cross breed them, with varying degrees of success.

The JRPF is holding a race from Morant Bay, St Thomas, to Spanish Town today — approximately 45 miles.

Lofts are preparing for the Triple Crown, a series of futurity races with liberation from Morant Point Lighthouse in St Thomas (October 2), and Green Island and Negril in Westmoreland (October 30 and December 4, respectively).

Winners are determined by a complex clocking system considering time, distance, and fastest time per minute.