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No concern for safety, enjoyment of races at Guyana Cup event
Dear Editor,
I am not shocked at the headline, “Jockey dies after fall at Guyana Cup” (SN, Aug 18, 2025). Another headline could have been poorly kept stand collapsed after too many people were allowed in the stands.
I took some relatives there to the Rising Sun event but we left after the second race because of concerns for safety and security. It was a jumbo disappointment for us, as what was meant to be a good outing turned out to be a big nightmare. There needs to be an inquiry into the death of the young jockey. We just passed a Horseracing Bill but this is a good case of despite the laws in place, nobody seems to follow them.
The event was advertised as starting at 10:00 am. We travelled from Georgetown and got there at 8:45 am. Others were already there. Security would not let us in and did not explain why when asked. People were noisy and complaining about not being let in. At 10:00 am when races were supposed to start, the crowd was clamouring to be let in and attempted to storm the entrance. Then the security guy said they were cleaning the place. Why was cleaning not done before? What kind of planning was that? They were also putting up additional metal fences at the admissions area that morning instead of getting that done before. As we waited at the entrance gates, a shower came down and made the place muddy. The water was coming up where the people were standing under the shed. We were let in close to 11:00 am. The first race did not start until 12:10 pm. The announcer did a poor job as you could not hear well. For the first two races, we did not see any live feed on the big screen.
At the main stand, there were no available seats. People blocked the stairways making entrance and exit a nightmare. At the back top, people were massed on the platform and stood in front of the people seated at the top row at the wall. The people behind the row before the back platform were pushed over by people leaning in to see the horses pass by the finish line area. From the stand, we could not see the horses except when they were coming closer to the finish line. People go to a horse race to see the horses overtaking each other as they run. We could not see much because of the “millionaires’ row” they created in the middle of the ground. They used up all that area that blocked the view of the horses running.
Those of us in the stand felt like Lazarus looking on at the rich man. Whose idea was it to create the millionaires row? People paid lots of money to be hosted there and served by servers in uniform, while we could not go to the shabby vendors at the back because you could not pass through the throngs of people massed on the stand. People were seen fetching in tables and food and drink items up to about 2:00 pm indicating the poor planning. The fire codes must be observed. You can’t have so many people on the stands. They should not sell more tickets than they have seats. Apart from the stands, there were hundreds of people on the ground standing behind the fence. My car got stuck in the mud in the parking lot. Except for attention to making the “millionaires’ row” comfortable, this event was a total disaster for us. We left after the second race as it became meaningless if you cannot see the horses as they ran, blocked by the millionaires row.
If Government is to subsidise such an event, they must ask questions about safety and security of fans. An investigation is needed into the death of the young jockey. If they had started at 10:00 am as billed, the event would not have extended into the darker hours where visibility was diminished for the jockeys and horses. I give the organisers, a jumbo fat “F” grade for this unenjoyable event. I hope other clubs do not use this Club as a template for running their events.
Sincerely,
M. Singh
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