CAYMANAS Park will be giving back to punters when it hosts a back-to-school bonanza during two days of thoroughbred racing on August 24 and 25.

A number of businesses will, during the two days, join Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) in what has been described as a grand book give-away bonanza on Saturday, August 24, during the staging of the seventh Book Empire Limited race day programme.

The giveaways will continue during racing on Sunday, August 25 when the CTL staff, in conjunction with Seek, LP Azar and Azan Supercentre pooling resources together, have invited punters and their families to come out and enjoy what has been described as a “never to be forgotten race programme”.

Bruce Baylis, chairman of Book Empire Limited, told a press conference at the Trainers’ Room at Caymanas Park, St Catherine yesterday that his company will be the major sponsor of both days of racing, beginning on Saturday with the seventh running of the Seek Exercise Book Trophy.

The Seek Trophy event will headline the card on Saturday August 24, going 1,300 metres for a purse of $1,000,000 (inclusive of $250,000) from Book Empire Ltd.

CTL’s secretary of racing, Denzil Miller Jnr, described the event as one of the highest calibre set among Open Allowance runners, three-year-olds upward.

The race that was won last year by the American-bred Reasonable Press, trained by 14-time champion Philip Feanny, is again among a number of high profile runners who will be contesting this year’s renewal his second lien on the trophy. His eligible rivals for this year’s renewal are fellow American-bred Double The Honey, Hupomone, Sir Von, Noon It Is, Go Go Yvonne, Uppa Tune and Rio Cobre along with The Guv, Potcheen, Traditional Prince, Jet Setter, Smokin Man, Typewriter, Commanding Chief and Uncle Taf.

The remaining races will carry the names of products of Book Empire, the number one suppliers of books made in Jamaica.

The races are as follows: Seek Pack Plaque, Little Seek 20 sheets Plague, Double Line Trophy, The Seek Composition Plaque, Seek 70 Sheet Plaque, Seek Scrapbook Plaque, Seek Employees Trophy, The Seek Customer Trophy, The Seek Black & White Composition Plaque.

The first two staging of the event — 2001 and 2003 — was run over 1,600 metres and were won by OK Don and Vigilante, respectively. Following a break of six years the event was reintroduced and the distance was reduced to 1,300 metres. The current Horse-Of-The-Year and winner of most races at Caymanas Park, Saint Cecelia, won the 2009 renewal in a time of 1:17.2, carrying 50.0kg and Paul Francis. The American import Ron Ron won the 2010 race, while the Canadian-bred Priceless Beauty the 2011 event and Reasonable Press was last year’s winner.