The following is an update from the President of the Thoroughbred Owners And Breeders Association, Howard Hamilton on the racing industry.

The horse-racing industry continues to face a crisis.

The minister responsible for horse racing, the Honourable Nigel Clarke, minister of finance and the public service, in recognising this, called a meeting of racing interests on May 2, 2024, to discuss issues which had caused the disruption of local-racing programmes.

At that meeting, Minister Clarke emphasised:

– That the racing industry was an important contributor to the economy and social fabric of the country.

– The breeding industry was significant to the agricultural sector.

– Employment, especially among the least-privileged, jockeys and grooms, who have been able to achieve international status and become important contributors to remittances from their employment overseas.

– Professional opportunities for the development of farriers and veterinarians was also recognised.

Minister Clarke, therefore, stressed that he wished to see racing as a vibrant contributor to the entertainment for the tourism sector.

He was concerned that the disruption of racing programmes was something that needed to be addressed urgently, with respect to the inability of the racing promoter to start racing at the published time, and resultant abandonment of races by the regulators was not acceptable.

The withdrawal of nominations by trainers, which resulted in three days’ abandonment of races, was also an area of great concern. He, therefore, wished to address these problems.

The regulator was directed to institute sanctions, which did not include the abandonment of racing and the promoter was requested to ensure that it respected the rules and regulations governing the published start time of races.

There was much discussion on the vexed question of the inadequacy of the compensation package (purses) to stakeholders. The promoter and stakeholders were instructed to meet and resolve this impasse within 30 days and report back to him on the result of their negotiations.

The group left the meeting with the satisfaction of, at last, there was a minister of finance who recognised the value of the industry and was anxious to see its economic potential moving forward.

In keeping with the direction of the minister, a negotiating team of stakeholders was formed and meetings initiated with the promoting company. The stakeholders’ team insisted that purse payments should recognise the escalating costs of preparing horses for the promoter’s racing programme.

A template of these costs was presented, which showed that it cost close to $3 billion to prepare horses for racing programmes, and the current payment of $760 million was not acceptable.

The team requested payment of not less than 60 per cent of the recurrent cost with the understanding that these costs will be reviewed each quarter. This was rejected by the promoter and the intervention of the mediator, Senator Don Wehby, provided no satisfactory conclusion.

The position has since been referred to the minister for his action. The stakeholders’ recommendation to him is that he examines the taxation policy of the gaming industry in keeping with other global racing jurisdictions where contributions to purses are met by taxation on gaming activities.

One of the important recommendations which he made at the meeting of May 2 was that, arising from these various submissions, a task force should be established to chart the way forward for a viable racing industry.

We now await his further advice.