Is horseracing moving forward or descending into anarchy in Guyana?

May 14, 2023 Sports

By Samuel Whyte

Fans flock the fence to get a glimpse of the action during the 2018 Guyana Cup.

Kaieteur Sports – After tremendous efforts were made during the early 2000s to have the sport of horse racing regularized, which saw some semblance of order being return to the Sport of Kings, things are not so healthy at the moment.

Those are the sentiments of a number of horse owners and connections, especially those considered as the small owners and other connections.

Some are now asking if the sport is really moving forward or descending to anarchy.

They say the recent meeting held by the Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) for local owners was very refreshing. They got an insight into what is happening and how they can get more benefits from the sport.

The efforts being put in by KMTC and the recent programme release by the Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) are very encouraging.

The owners are also blaming the Guyana Government through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) for the sloth in passing the necessary legislation. With that, the sport is left to the mercy of those who are willing to do as they please and is presently on the cusp of descending into disorder.

There are a number of Turf Clubs in the country – all located in Berbice. Whilst some are active others are dormant for various reasons, however, that doesn’t mean that the clubs aren’t functioning.

Most of the clubs have their traditional racing dates which were agreed to over the decades. These cannot be encroach by other clubs without getting the agreement of the other club(s) or sanctioned by the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA).

Not much is heard of the GHRA these days, either it is none functional or its authority is being bypassed.

A number of clubs have released dates that encroach upon another and with no legislations in place and a dysfunctional GHRA, one can only see chaos and confusion and possible losers at the end of the day.

Whilst many reasons are being presented for the seeming disarray, one cannot escape the lack of proper legislation for the ongoing confusion. Without legislation persons are allowed to do as they feel and cannot be sanctioned.

Horse owners say that they are not consulted by those involved and are not prepared to continue being treated with this type of disrespect.

They are losing and stand to lose further. They spend millions on their animals and they want guarantees. But at the moment, persons at various spectrums are only interested in their personal gains and do not want to cooperate, much to the detriment of the sport.

Some say that the present state of the sport offers little or no guarantees for anyone and only a few benefits including the many lawless gamblers, who reap the brunt of the profits.

Many are contemplating giving up if nothing tangible is thrown up fast. It is left to be seen how things will pan out.