Racing on as compromise reached
CAYMANAS Track Limited (CTL) CEO Cedric Stewart and stakeholders yesterday reached a compromise which will facilitate horses being nominated today for Saturday’s race meet.
The stakeholders had threatened to withhold their nomination of horses for Saturday’s race meet, until the vexed issue of purse cut was addressed, after CTL had advised that effective May 1, 2013, all breeders’ bonuses would be discontinued, except for two and three-year-old races, and all other purses would be reduced by 4.8 per cent in order to keep the cash-strapped entity viable.
As part of the settlement to nominate horses, it was decided that Stewart would convene a meeting with the Minister of Finance Dr Peter Phillips and the stakeholders as soon as possible; and that a suspension be put on plans to reduce purses until the meeting is held.
It was later learnt that purses would not have been reduced in any event, as the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC), which has regulatory authority over CTL, had not yet approved the application for the purse reduction, stating in a letter to CTL yesterday, that it needed more time to examine the application.