IT has hardly been noticeable that six months of the racing year has sped by and we are now in the second half of what is turning to be a very good one in many respects especially as it relates to the racing product.
For the most part the race meetings have been very well supported as there is a lot more imagination and co-operation going into the preparation of the programmes and it is evident that Racing Secretary Denzil Miller has gained the confidence of the trainers as he continues to do a very intelligent job.
Caymanas Track Ltd. (CTL) has been able to present competitive racing and in fact we have seen a high proportion of upset winners which can be attributed to the fact that it in many of the races more careful analysis of the form has to be done in order to predict the outcome. There have been a lot of races where the bulk of the betting has favoured too many horses whose form is suspect in terms of the quality of the opposition.
Betting on races held outside of Jamaica continues to be very popular as CTL and the bookmakers continue to present the best of what is available on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact, although betting on overseas racing has been around for three and a half decades it is only in the last decade, with the closed circuit television that the culture has been enhanced significantly.
Although the figures are not in yet, from all indications both CTL and the bookmakers have enjoyed increased sales and profitability since the start of the year and given a trouble free second half there is no reason why all records in terms of sales will not be surpassed. The average punter seems to be expending more in the game each year.
Looking at the Jamaica Racing Commission statistics for the first six months the most remarkable revelation is the fact that former champion trainer Philip Feanny, with his starters' stakes earning currently at around $17.4 million his performance is more than twice that of his chief rival. Reigning champion Wayne DaCosta has $8.5 million to be a clear second well ahead of Jose Pinchin on $5.6 million. The championship here looks to be a foregone conclusion.
With the untimely death of Aero Star, triple crown champion I'msatisfied with earnings of $4.4 million is unlikely to be eclipsed for the title of best three-year-old. His owner Joseph Duany has excellent prospects of becoming champion owner as he, currently at $4.8 million, leads reigning champion Laurence Heffes by $1.4 million. However that is not to say that the incumbent cannot defend his title successfully, in fact he has the ammunition to do it.
Andrew Ramgeet is building an unassailable lead in the jockeys championship and is more than 20 clear of the main rival Shane Ellis. The riding has been fiercely competitive and in addition to former champion's Winston Griffiths, Charles Hussey and Percival Williams we see Richard Mitchell, Ramon Parish, Larris Allen and Kenyatta Davis all doing as well as can be expected.
The horsemen have put on a great show for the first six months of the year and one hopes that nothing will sabotage their efforts to keep racing a viable spectacle for a long time.
By Cliff Williams,
Contributor
