The Guyana Horse Racing Legislation, what is the status?

Dec 24, 2023 Sports

By Samuel Whyte

Kaieteur Sports – After much fuss about the Horse Racing Legislation being available by August this year (2023), it now seems that all that was just talk. The bottom line is that the much sought after Horse Racing legislation is not in place.

Despite the hype earlier that all will be ready there is a sudden wall of silence. The Government is not saying anything and the other players in Guyana are likewise hushed.

As journalists our job is not here to pick a fight. We ask probing questions, seek out the facts, lobby and advocate for changes and betterment among other fulfillments.

Horse Racing is a very expensive sport known as the “Sport Of Kings” and with the amount of money involved persons must be concerned. One is forced to ask if the relevant authorities are playing politics with such an important activity.

It might be simple to rehash some of what was written before, but let’s look at the situation as it is.

Tremendous efforts were made during the early 2000s to have the Sport regularized. Some semblance of order was returned to the sport, but things quickly went awry.

Information coming to Kaieteur News is that the preparation of the legislation is in limbo with a number of controversies swirling.

Further digging informs that financial concerns are at the center of the controversy. This seems not to be going anywhere and things seems to be at a loggerhead. The latest imbroglio is Legal entanglement might be on the horizon. If this is not sorted out urgently it could be very embarrassing for the Horse Racing Industry and Guyana as a whole.

Earlier in the year Mrs. Chan Kennard, a stalwart in the horseracing arena with close to 60 years of involvement in the Sport, was vocal about the status of the sport. She stated that there is no cooperation and people are not listening. The result is what we are having today. The sport is left to the mercy of those who are willing to do as they please. She wants cooperation.

The present state of the sport offers little or no guarantees except for a few including the many lawless gamblers, who reap the brunt of the profits.

The above are some reasons why a number of top players are riding away from the sport and heading to countries like Jamaica.

The Government gives millions of dollars to various sporting activities. Horse racing gets little or nothing. One of the pertinent questions is why?

The players must seek to get themselves in order. Put a governing body and proper rules and regulations in place.

Establish committees such as the Race track owners, Horse owners, trainers, Jockeys among others and elect representatives. Some of those sub committees could help to offset some of the expenses in the interim.

In the meantime the waiting continues and it is uncertain how it will pan out.

changes, Government, Guyana Horse Racing, legislation, Samuel Whyte

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