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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 “no-racing” is having on a group of people who cannot seem to understand that EVERY Jamaican is having...
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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 herded into cramped, unsanitary Off Track Betting parlours (OTBs) to fiscally maintain horseracing by gambling away their meagre...
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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, trained by Champion Trainer Nunes, left Jamaica in November 2019 to represent the country in the Caribbean Classic,...
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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 when the remarkable Dennis Lalor ruled both the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) and the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries...
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Last week, in-between family duties, I watched as much of the five-day Glorious Goodwood festival from Sussex, England, as possible. On Thursday, a peculiar thing happened. Although the first race went off on time (routine for a country seasoned in live horse racing coverage and the importance of holding...
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Unfortunately, local horse racing continues to bleed customers of all ages. Very few of the millennial generation are sufficiently interested to invest in a tote that extorts 30% of stakes wagered in win and 40% in exotic pools before declaring a dividend; in purchasing horses that cost a...
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The new horse racing promoter has tried manfully for two years to revive a dying sport but CPR isn’t working and there are no defibrillators in sight. SVREL’s unaudited accounts claim almost $200 million in capital expenditure has been made but fans aren’t seeing the money in the...
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She who must be Obeyed (SWMBO) recently celebrated her 37th wedding anniversary on the twoth of March (we have the 4th, 5th, 6th etc so why isn’t March 2 the twoth of March?). SWMBO attended “Simply Myrna” where she was introduced to a youthful, talented throwback named Bunny...
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It’s been a while. Since I’ve been away, the latest public obsession has been with the spectre of unchecked profligacy at some public sector agencies conveniently summarized by the word “Petroscam”. But this isn’t an isolated problem with how public sector entities are structured and operated. We have examples...
