A Very Personal Horseracing Journey
Believe it or not (By Ripley) this is my 100th Public Opinion column. What better way to celebrate than to re-tell Part I of a story last told almost 20 years …
Land reform must follow Hurricane Melissa
In 1838, slavery was abolished in the British West Indies. It was the end of an over 300-year policy, practice, and business of enslaving Africans to work on the sugar plantations on …
Is The Track Prejudiced?
By The Terrible Tout Lots of misinformation and rumour are usually bruited about regarding Caymanas Park’s track bias. A cultish commitment to the advantage of a high number draw has become …
Turmoil Rears Its Head On Every Continent
In Jamaican folklore we have been told by Granny that “bad luck always comes in threes”, and even though some may doubt this, recent events may be seen as some kind …
Backing Favourites Is A Mug’s Game!
If I had a dollar for every punter I’ve seen leaving the race track broke after cheering home more than one-half the day’s winners I’d be a billionaire. These bettors are …
This Way To The Alms House
When Chris Armond and I were students at iconic Campion College our teachers were mostly excellent. One standout exception was a Geography teacher who we nicknamed “Ratty” due to the shape …
Christmas Wishes, New Year’s Wish List
So Queen Elizabeth II described 1992 as an “annus horribilis”. What was her problem? She had some family issues that included three divorces among her children and their arranged-by-Royal-Decree spouses. Oh, …
Horseracing stakeholders must be prepared for compromise
The flag-burning and demonstration of anger by stakeholders of the racing fraternity outside the gates of the country’s only racetrack a few weeks ago was the physical demonstration of frustration that …
If You Can’t Hear…..
So, local horse racing has finally been sent on furlough. This after weeks of stubborn resistance during which countless Jamaicans of modest means and most vulnerable to the current pestilence were …
Protocol Needed To Prevent Recurrence Of The Supreme Soul Debacle
Jamaica’s latest Triple Crown winner, (the epitome of racing quests) Supreme Soul returned to the island on Monday, February 10 2020 with full television coverage. Readers may recall that this colt, …
Walking While The World Rides?
In so many areas of life, Jamaica seems comfortable with easy-going, laid-back, “no-problem-mon” archaic circumstances. The separated but related industries of betting, gaming and lotteries are no exception. In the 1980s …