Interim rules will be tested on day of Guyana Cup Meet

…Ahead of legislation becoming law

Coming on the heels of the recent announcement made by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, draft legislation for the formation of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) has been submitted, and is expected to be laid in Parliament shortly for approval of same soon.
A senior official of the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC) has said the ‘waters will be tested’ by the introduction of some interim rules on the Guyana Cup race day, come Sunday August 11, 2024 at the racing track at Rising Sun Village, West Coast Berbice. These interim rules, according to this official, would form part of a dress rehearsal to prepare horsemen for the type of rules they would have to follow when the GHRA’s Rules of Racing become law.
The official has also said, “The world will be looking at us on Guyana Cup (day). We have to showcase that we are preparing ourselves to conform to what is internationally done. What is being introduced on Guyana Cup Day of racing by us is for horsemen to understand what regulated racing will be. This is not being done to penalise, but to prepare them for regulated racing.”
He admitted, “It may seem like a bitter pill, but we have to swallow it to conform to what everyone has been crying out for: legislation.
“We have to promote horse racing in Guyana along international guidelines. A number of racing jurisdictions in the Caribbean are interested in competing in Guyana, but cannot because we are not regulated,” he disclosed.
Then he said, “We will be hosting two meetings, at Rising Sun Turf Club and Port Mourant Turf Club, to sensitise (owners) and explain the rules that will be introduced to horsemen. Copies of these rules will be handed out to them at the meetings. The dates will be announced shortly. The interim rules will be advertised and printed in the race day program also.”