The Trinidad Derby was a success

The Trinidad Derby was a success on Monday 25th September and one has to say congratulations to the Arima Race Club and their management team headed by President , Gerard Ferreira , for a job well done . There was a tremendous holiday crowd and the racing was both competitive and attractive . It was also driven home , that the current stands are not adequate and the turning of the sod for a new facility has to be refreshing news for everyone who loves the sport.

The Minister of Trade and Industry , Kenneth Valley was on hand and if he absorped my racing selections (tips) , he would have been a happy man , particularly after the Trinidad Derby , where the superfecta paid a whopping $3,022.00TT.

So all listeners to this station i95.5fm should have their pockets filled today.



The Local horse racing industry is set for further financial support from the Ministry of Trade and Industry based on two proposals currently under review by this Ministry.

All of those who love the sport must be hoping that it will progress to further and higher heights. To assist in this process, I am outlining below some of the thoughts of a number of the average turfites, who I have been speaking to over the last few months. First a disclaimer, let me state that although the views expressed are those of the many, I will not be revealing any names since the views were expressed in casual conversation and were not meant to be interpreted as political affiliation of any sort. Some of these have in fact been implemented but there is still room for loads of improvement.

The suggestions put forward can be classified into two main categories due to space limitations:



1) Improving the competitive nature of each day's racing

2) Increasing the public confidence in the local racing industry



Improving the competitive nature of local horse racing

To improve competitiveness, the answer is not to revert to the old classification system, nor is it to remain with the current claiming/allowance race system. The best system in the view of the group of turfites is along the lines of the UK system of handicap ratings combined with claiming and selling races. A group of experienced handicappers should be formed and this group made responsible for handicapping every horse in training in Trinidad and Tobago. Retention of claiming races will allow owners/trainers to handicap their own horses while selling races will provide those with lower quality animals an opportunity to pick a pepper, so to speak.



A second aspect of improving competitiveness is the quality of our raceday jocks. The majority of them are average at best, and since the closure of the jockey school, race riding skills have gone steadily downhill. Prior to the introduction of the jockey school, apprentices had to be attached to the bigger stables and met certain minimum criteria in terms of experience, if these criteria are still in place; it is not evident from what is actually transpiring. Re-introduction and enforcement of these criteria is essential. We also need to re-introduce the mandatory random drug testing of jockeys. Each jockey should be drug tested at least once a year.



A third aspect of improving the competitive nature is the introduction of Speed Figures for horse performances in their previous starts. We have had eight years of racing on the all-weather surface, sufficient time for the development of standard times for each distance. These should be used along with the traditional factors of weight/going allowance and distance from winner to derive a speed figure for each horse in a race. Making this information available to the punter will significantly improve the punter's information base on local horse racing and put it closer to its overseas rivals. Development of these speed figures do not require a brain surgeon, and often turfites will develop their own system, if necessary a competition could be held among turfites to derive the best system to be used by the authorities. This would be a great way to encourage a lot of interest..





Increasing public confidence

The second step in keeping the fires burning is to increase confidence. The key ingredients here are:

- Transparency in decision making

- Consistency in rule interpretation

There seems to be no reverting to the days of Alex Selman, but that is not to say that we cannot develop our own cadre of independent, knowledgeable and disciplined stewards. Our stewards must not only be independent, they must be seen to be independent. Some form of certification for local stewards must be designed, and in this regard, we should look at examples of say Australia and the US to identify possible approaches. Overseas training for stewards is also a pre-requisite.

Decisions of the stewards must be immediately explained to the public and replays of the race shown explaining/illustrating the rationale for decisions. Stewards need to take a tougher stance with jockeys and too often the only penalty seems to be relatively light fines. Jockeys should be stood down for one of two race days depending on the severity/frequency of their offenses.



Racing is poised for a take-off; the economy is on the upswing and now is the time to take advantage of these positive signs. Hopefully, the infighting is now behind us and we can get on with the business at hand, restoring horse racing to its position as the "King of Sports" in Trinidad and Tobago.