Arima Race Club president: We need more horses

ARIMA Race Club president Robert Bernard is anticipating an exciting final day of horse racing for 2022 and is optimistic for the new year as the industry continues to regain its footing since the covid19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic almost three years ago horse racing in TT has not been held regularly. At times, fans have not been allowed to attend racing at Santa Rosa Park during the pandemic. Betting is a huge part of horse racing and with fewer fans, over the last three years, the industry has taken a hit.

On Tuesday, however, fans are expected to come out in their numbers for the popular Boxing Day card.

“We hope to have a nice crowd,” Bernard said. “We have entertainment for the children and things of that nature, so we are hoping to have a nice crowd to close off the year. We have some nice races, so hopefully, people will come out.”

Looking ahead to 2023 Bernard is hopeful, but also realistic about the frequency of racing as the pandemic has damaged the industry.

“Our problem right now is a lack of racing stock. We need more horses. For the first quarter of the year, we will probably have racing just once a month.”

Later in the year, Bernard said racing can possibly be held more often.

“Once things settle down we will be looking to get some more horses into the racing stock. It does not make sense having races more than once a month right now (because) we just don’t have the horses to allow us to do that. That is the biggest challenge we have right now of course with all the other challenges we facing, financial etcetera.”

Bernard knows getting horse racing on track again is a long process. “It is an uphill task. It is not going to be resolved immediately.” Bernard said the racing fraternity is doing its best to keep the industry afloat.

He explained that horses may have to be brought to Trinidad from overseas as many local farms have closed during the pandemic and there are now fewer horses locally.

Bernard is also aiming for help from the Government. “We are going into next year with optimism. We have some plans. We have a business plan we are going with to the Government early next year,” Bernard said.

Trainers John O’Brien and Michael Lutchman will be battling for the trainer’s title on Tuesday.

O’Brien is anticipating Tuesday’s races. “Hopefully with a little luck we will have a good day,” O’Brien said.

“We have a lot of horses in the two big races.”

O’Brien is not thinking too much about the trainer’s title. He said, “You need a little bit of luck, but I think we should be alright tomorrow to continue the streak.”

Speaking about 2023, O’Brien said, “We have to hope we could get back on our feet because covid19 has really damaged the industry and it needs some help to go forward and we have to keep our fingers crossed.”

O’Brien has enjoyed the friendly competition with Lutchman during 2022. “It adds to the interest in the races,” O’Brien said.

Races begin on Tuesday at 1.05 pm with the feature event scheduled for 4.05 pm.