By Cliff Williams, ContributorWHEN ALL is said and done the fundamental problem faced by the local racing industry is that over the last decade there has been a reduction of investment by certain well-heeled horsemen and this is in combination with a failure to attract a new generation of investors in sufficient numbers.
One also observes that the number of persons interested in the Sport of Kings has grown, but not exponentially during the period despite the fact that in terms of media coverage and the virtual explosion of facilities for wagering no other forms of businesses of any type have had this level of exposure.
Sales returns from wagering in the industry should have been greater, but one suspects that the slow growth rate of the general economy is the causative factor here as funds for discretionary disposal contract with the inflation figures heading in the wrong direction. There is also the competition from lotteries and numbers games which have, by sheer high pressure salesmanship, imposed on the gaming market so effectively that it has attracted business away from the Sport of Kings with devastating effect.
In terms of investment or the lack of it one only needs to examine the breeding industry and then it can be appreciated why there has been this serious decline in the equine population. There are 42 horses listed in the 2003 Jamaica Thoroughbred Stallion Register and amazingly of this number only 21 were foaled after 1990 with a mere eight being less than 10 years old. This means that exactly half the registered stallion population can be described quite accurately as aging with as many as another eight of these foaled before 1985!
The Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association of Jamaica Yearling Sales could only offer 160 lots in 2003 and whilst one could say that this is not entirely a disaster it is hardly satisfactory given the magnitude of the problem. Truth be told, there has been a steady decline and at best a levelling off of the yield from stud farms with each succeeding year. This demonstrates clearly that lack of investment in the breeding sector is the root cause of the industry's inability to improve the quality of the racing product.
As things stand, the viable equine population available for racing has declined from nearly 1200 a decade or so ago to just over 900 in 2003 with more than half of that amount having lameness and/or bleeding problems and a significant number of aging ones in there as well. Whilst I would not go so far as to say that what is happening now in terms of the importation of horses for racing and breeding is too little too late, the fact of the matter is that we are facing a situation where damage limitation is the only option for the moment until the type of investment needed for viability is forthcoming.
Even against this background the principal players in the industry must make an effort to keep the business viable. The question now arises as to what exactly can be done immediately to turn the fortunes of the racing industry around and who are going to be the new investors. As far as I am concerned the likely new and potential investors are not visible immediately and this must be cause for great concern.
Last week I conducted a radio interview with Laurence Heffes, president of the Jamaica Racehorse Owners and Breeders Association, and he is of the view that as far as divestment is concerned his organization favours a broad-based ownership structure. Speaking of divestment and ownership, investment in the industry going forward is going to depend to a large extent on what sort of ownership structure and capitalisation plan emerge once the business side passes into private hands.
I notice that whilst we are waiting indefinitely for the terms and conditions of divestment of the operation of the racetrack to be promulgated, the licensed bookmakers and the promoters are engaged in a debate over opening hours and rights fees and there is no doubt that some sort of compromise will be in place before long, but the current crisis facing the local racing industry makes everything else pales into insignificance.
