Fletcher welcomes SVREL incentive
Published:Thursday | April 1, 2021 | 12:21 AMRobert Bailey - Gleaner Writer
Top female jockey Samantha Fletcher said she is delighted with the announcement that Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) will be offering a $100,000-incentive to the female jockey with the most wins at the end of each quarter.
Fletcher, who is the leading female jockey this year with three wins, described this as an excellent move by the racing promoters, adding that it will also bring more recognition to herself and her fellow female riders.
“I think this is a very good thing for us. I am happy that they have finally done something for the women at the track,” said Fletcher.
Lorna Gooden, general manager of SVREL, said this new incentive will help to improve the standard of riding among the female jockeys at Caymanas Park as it will encourage more effort, while they continue to improve their riding ability.
“It is significant and we felt that we wanted to give an incentive to the females operating in the sport that is dominated by males,” said Gooden, during a press conference at Caymanas Park yesterday.
“We want them to grab on to this incentive and go out there and show their true colours and their work and dedication to the craft that they have chosen to participate in,” she added.
Gooden underscored that she hopes that this new incentive will also inspire the female riders to win a lot more races.
MOTIVATION
“We hope that this is added motivation to them and we want them to use it as such, to go out and seek the additional rides that would improve their number of wins,” Gooden said. “This is a lot of money, and I hope that they see it as well because they have been holding their own and we want to encourage them, and this is why we thought that we would offer something specifically for them.”
Meanwhile, Fletcher is anticipating that the incentive will lead to increased competition among female riders.
“I think that the females are going to start putting out a lot more effort because there is something ahead for them to go for and they will be a lot more encouraged to work harder,” Fletcher said.
“I think that you are going to see a lot more competitions among the females because everybody will be aiming to win whenever they go out to ride,” added Fletcher.
Fletcher is among five female jockeys currently plying their trade at Caymanas Park. The others are Natalie Berger, Abigail Able, Andree Powell and Mellisa Ward.