Racing has been receiving a considerable amount of attention recently. All eyes have been on the industry following the landmark meeting of stake holders on Tuesday, November 29.

The Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) responded to the no-confidence vote in their handling of increased fees and fines by summoning a meeting to discuss the matter on Tuesday, December 2.

That meeting once again emphasised the unified stand which the stakeholders have taken.

There were assurances that the important issues of revenue and income were being addressed and teams have been established to advice on taxation and divestment.

Weary of committees

In the meantime, there would be dialogue with the associations to incorporate their specific concerns before implementing the new rates.

The intention is that this will be completed for implementation on March 1, 2009.

We are all a bit weary of committee after committee. So far there has been much 'talking' but little 'walking'. Patience is being exhausted, especially since we have travelled this road before.

Usually, committees are formed when there is no resolve to do anything. We are willing to try once again but, we repeat, there is a limit to our patience.

An important consideration must be the changed profile of ownership in the industry. Most of the new participants look to racing as a source of income and the demands for increased purses are a perpetual cry. Participation falls into three main categories:

Getting into the sport

A racing owner may have come into the sport for one of several reasons:

Perhaps he just loves horses and horse racing; and he would like to see his colours carried in a race-win or lose, cost it what it may.

Perhaps he is a shrewd investor and wants to make a real 'killing' on the tote or with the bookmakers when the time comes that his horse has everything going for him.

Maybe, he expects to make a profit or at least break even after setting off all the expenses against the purse-money earned.

Those in the third category should pause and consider. They should not expect to make a profit although they may hope to do so.

Everyone has a weekend hobby for relaxation. Some enjoy shooting or fishing, others prefer going to night clubs or travelling. They all know that these activities will cost money.

If someone decides that his hobby is to own a race horse why should he expect that his chosen hobby will cost him nothing. Even more important -why should he be assured of a profit?

Participants who just love horses and wish nothing more than to see their 'colours' carried in a race are no longer attracted to the sport. The claiming system has had a disastrous effect on the current ownership structure of our racing industry.

Iniquitous system

I have pleaded for the system to be adapted to our local unique conditions - one track and a limited number of horses. I have pleaded for more optional claiming races, as owners do not want to lose their horses. I have pleaded for claiming tags to be put at levels which make it prohibitive for the constant changing of owners and trainers.

What we have now is nothing less than a supermarket where more horses are claimed in a day than in a whole year at a typical track in the US.

The current chairman of Caymanas Track Ltd. has been very outspoken about the system and has reduced his interest in owning horses because of this iniquitous system. Yet now that he is in a position to do something about it, he has done nothing and we wonder why new owners are not being attracted to the sport!!

Interesting times

No investor or group of investors are going to show any interest unless there is an incorporation of the bookmakers activities into the revenue stream of the promoting company.

We can't continue with a situation where more than 50 per cent of the sales of your promotion are harvested by a third party, with not one cent being returned to help defray some of the costs associated with putting on that promotion. Interesting times are ahead.

Howard L. Hamilton, CD, JP, is a former chairman of Caymanas Track Limited. He is the current president of the Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association. He can be contacted at howham@cwjamaica.com.