Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Bush Lot United Turf Club not pleased race meet had to be rescheduled
By Samuel Whyte
The Bush Lot United Turf Club (BLUTC), which has been rated as the most improved horserace club in Guyana over the past few years, is not happy with how things materialized over the last few weeks leading up to their horserace meet, which was scheduled for the 29th September and which had to be postponed and eventually rescheduled because the police at the last moment refused to grant permission for activity.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, members of the executive laid blame on Government and the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) for their ineptitude and for what occurred.
Coordinator Lakeram Buddy Sukdeo
Treasurer and coordinator of the BLUTC Lakeram Buddy Sukdeo said the members expressed their disappointment in how they were treated, stating that a number of forces combined to deny them permission to stage their event.
The veteran horse owner, who has been racing horses in various parts of North America, especially Canada, before returning home, said that, the BLUTC is left at a loss to find out who gave permission for the meet on the 6th October, stating that the event was not even on the calendar of events of the GHRA. He said that the BLUTC is blaming the GHRA for double standard. “They know the rules; they make the rules, one of which states that major race meets should be held at least two weeks apart, yet permission was given for a meet one week after the BLUTC meet on the same coast. How could the GHRA overlook something like that?” he queried.
Sukdeo stated that from the BLUTC point of view -They feel that it was a setup by a number of forces to get their race meet postponed. “The organisers know very well that a number of horses would have competed at the BLUTC event and all would not have been able to run the following week. As such various factors were deliberate put in place to have their race meet postponed.”
Listing some of the hurdles they had to cross, Sukdeo stated that – firstly, for some strange reason they were denied permission by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for no reason what so ever, although the body had given them permission on numerous occasions before. They had to battle to get over that hurdle and then at the last moment the police dropped a bomb shell on them by refusing permission.
The BLUTC feel that the PPP organisers in their own selfish ways had a lot to do with the scenario, because at the last moment they realized that they had to organise something and realizing the fix they were in, used a combination of activities to thwart them of their meet at the last moment.
Sukdeo said that the members feel that they should have been consulted or contacted long before so that something could have been worked. He is blaming both the GHRA and the PPP as being equally culpable for the situation.
According to Sukdeo, when they questioned the reason for the hindrances, they were told to tell ‘Donald’ (Ramoutar). The BLUTC fells that it is dictatorship and suppression of a small club.
Although they welcome the GHRA’s belated intervention in granting them a date in November, they feel that the body is bias and one sided and needs to be revamped immediately. They also want the legislation passed as quickly as possible so that some standard and sanity could be returned to the sport.
The meet, which was being organised in collaboration with the Inshan Bacchus Trucking Service and Nazrudeen Mohamed ‘Junior’ of Jumbo Jet, has been rescheduled for November 10th at the same venue.
The organisers claimed that they have suffered thousands of dollars in losses, mentioning the kind of ground work that had to be put in place and the enormous expenses that they had to endure to make preparation for the big day.
The police had pulled the plug on the meet a few days before race day citing the police Gymkhana on the same date at Hopetown for the reasons to refuse to give permission. The BLUTC had called the move selfish and unreasonable.
President of The GHRA former Chancellor, Justice Cecil Kennard, in speaking to Kaieteur News stated that he was out of the jurisdiction and was not aware of the developments. However as soon as he returned, he made interventions which were too late overturn anything.
However, due to his insistence the BLUTC was given the earliest possible date which is the 10th of November which was a reserved for Rising Sun.
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