Expanded Mouttet Mile to go over two days

The richest race in the English-speaking Caribbean is officially expanding. Caymanas Park’s marquee race day will now be a two-day racing carnival taking place on Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5.

The announcement was made by Solomon Sharpe, executive chairman of SVREL, during a recent press briefing at the Caymanas Park Director’s Lounge.

Sharpe explained that Friday’s card allows for the inclusion of more races for Jamaica-bred thoroughbreds, and will also feature a new Claiming Crown series offering higher purses.

“The first day of the weekend carnival will have the She’s A Maneater Sprint that will be exclusive to local-bred horses,” he said.

“Also on the Friday, the minimum purse for the claiming races will be $1.5 million for horses competing at the $350,000 claiming group. We will also offer a $700,000 and a $1.5-million claiming race.”

Sharpe also announced an enhanced version of the popular Win and You’re In qualifying format by introducing a points-based qualifying structure designed to provide more opportunities for qualification and rewarding consistency throughout the year.

“We worked behind the scenes to come up with a points system ... I think we have come up with a very equitable points distribution system,” said Sharpe. “In the past, people felt their horses didn’t get a chance. Now, to all the performers throughout the year, if you can’t perform as much ... we are also going to celebrate the consistent horses who run their races and pick up points along the way.”

Oversight of the new structure falls to the newly formed Mouttet Mile Points Committee, chaired by Arielle Beckles, brand optimisation manager at SVREL, and including Sharpe, Racing Secretary Denzil Miller Jr, and media professionals Ian Burnett and Ainsley Walters.

Miller Jr confirmed that the new points structure is being implemented and that points are retroactive to January 1, and are allocated to the top four finishers of designated races.

Miller Jr also confirmed that for the16-horse gate composition for the Mouttet Mile, SVREL has increased the number of slots for locally based horses (domiciled in Jamaica prior to January 1) from eight to 10. The remaining six slots are reserved for horses shipped to the island after January 1, with one of those slots remaining an absolute guarantee for a New York-bred entrant.

With more than US$300,000 on the line for the main event and heavily boosted purses throughout the undercard, the fifth staging of the Mouttet Mile is poised to be the most lucrative and competitive weekend in Caribbean horse racing history. A full list of point allocations and standings are available on the SVREL website at www.caymanasracing.com.