MY personal association with the late Cecil Charlton started in the mid-1970s, when as a rookie reporter and a very young man at the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC), I was instructed by then Sports Editor, Lindy Delapenha, to conduct the drawing of post positions at the Jockey Club of Jamaica located at Kensington Crescent in St Andrew.

In those days, the draw for post positions was done live, the day before the actual race programme, not like today when an overnight is produced three or four days before a race meeting. Who can forget Roy Parke, secretary of the Jockey Club, spinning the numbers and announcing the draw? It was then my lot to announce officially –Eight Thirty, five, George HoSang, blinkers, 133 lbs. Thousands of racing fans would be steadfastly listening to their radios, writing down the draw information.

The draw on the JBC was sponsored by the Jamaica Bookmakers Association, headed by its president Cecil Charlton. I will never forget the first line of the introductory and closing commercial: “The bookmakers have a role to play and a contribution to make to society.” For four years I did the draw, receiving a small stipend which was gratefully accepted as I was then on the National Youth Service programme, and was always struggling to make ends meet.

The first time I actually spoke with Charlton was on the telephone. Of course he was listening to the first draw I did, and when he did not hear the familiar voice of Vin Lumsden announcing same, he called the Sports Department to inquire who was this new voice doing his sponsored programme? ‘Sir D’, as we at the time affectionately called our boss Mr Delapenha, took the call and handed the telephone receiver to me. After the perfunctory exchange of greetings, the indomitable ‘Mr C’ declared: “Young man, you don’t sound bad, but you need to talk louder. Yu voice too soft. Remember is a lot of people listening to you and yu must do it right for them.”

Indeed Charlton knew, understood and appreciated the power of the punters. Following that first telephone conversation, I subsequently met and spoke with Charlton several times. I can vividly remember being in his presence, listening to him talk with his friends, and the constant theme when he held centre court – and he always did – was about the power of the ‘little’ man. He would constantly repeat in his lifetime; “It is not the big bettors that mek Charles Off (his bookmaking company) a success. It is the little man who bet the penny and the ‘quattie’ (penny and a half) that mek it a success.”

I would never claim to know Cecil Charlton well. We met on very few occasions, yet as someone who has followed the sport of horse racing for a long time, I cannot help but understand the profound influence this self-made man from Mandeville had on the sport.

He was champion owner several times, and his appearances at the race track were always accompanied by panache and vitality. He ‘bawled’ his many horses to victory and was equally demonstrative when they lost. He had the uncanny knack of giving his horses ‘exotic’ names which invariably caught the imagination of the public. Remember Lover Boy Ces, Mr C, Mass Charles, I Have Returned, I Shall Return, Mr Mandeville, and The Mayor Himself.

There is absolutely no doubt that Cecil Charlton made an indelible mark on Jamaica – that is well documented. For us in horse racing, we are just thankful that he played a role and made a significant contribution to the sport and society.

The earthly race is over for Cecil C Charlton but his impact remains profound.

Fare thee well, ‘Mr C’.