Dear Editor,

Horse racing evokes many emotions, and the Government of Jamaica’s (GOJ) recent removal of General Consumption Tax (GCT) on the importation of horses is a clear example that the sport of horse racing is an emotive trigger.

Many welcomed the move and many others quickly criticised it as a strategy that only benefits a limited class of well-to-dos in horse racing. The latter narrative is not wholesome because it fails to recognise that earnings from purses and gaming aside, a racehorse provides employment for at least seven professionals in its racing career and on retirement from racing can go on to provide long-term value in other facets of society.

An unblinkered examination of the value and utility of horses in the wider economy would allow better appreciation of why the strategic removal of taxation allows not only for the immediate athlete and gaming inflows to the racing industry, but also for the future add-on benefits of retired racehorses serving in other disciplines. The obvious add-on benefit is the use of retirees to enhance the breeding stock, thereby creating future racers and employment opportunities on stud farms.

What is not so obvious is that while most horses will exit racing by age eight, many can live well into their 20s, and so it is commonplace to find retired racehorses serving in other careers. Jamaica’s very successful tourism product has established a growing markets for horse trail-riding experiences. Many of the horses used in tourism are retired racehorses who have traded in training in the racetrack’s equine pool for the beaches of our tourism corridor, all the while providing memorable experiences and contributing to tourism earnings.

Our Jamaica Constabulary Force, by way of its Mounted Troop Division, relies on the use of its more than one dozen horses for traffic duties, crowd management, and community engagement in tough policing neighbourhoods. These four-legged ‘officers’ are all retired racehorses and provide great value as teachers, enforcers, and blood donors to diagnostics in our human health services. Not to be overlooked are the roles retired racehorses play in other equestrian disciplines and equine-assisted therapy for less-abled people, the value of the latter being truly unquantifiable in monetary terms.

The bipartisan parliamentary support for the removal of GCT from the importation of horses is not only commendable but points to a deeper recognition that it is not strategic to be penny wise and pound foolish when treating with a commodity that creates multi-sectoral benefits, immediate inflows, long-term returns, and indeed serves as a generator of taxable revenue.

What is left to be done is to monitor the impact of the initiative and ensure that the policy serves our economy, people, and horses well.

Dr Sophia Ramlal

Veterinarian

irievet@yahoo.com