By Neto Baptiste
Businessman Carlton “Tyre Master” Lewis said the constant legal wrangling over rights to lands encompassing the Cassada Gardens Race Track, has discouraged potential investors in the past.
In a recent interview with Observer media, Lewis said the sport will continue to suffer if those in authority continues to live in denial that in its current format the, activities at the track will become unsustainable.
“Horse racing, the way they are running it, it’s a dead loss. When these guys finish running their horses they don’t get anything. They need to put other things in place so we could get some money spending or some little entity. I have all of the drawings which I have taken to the DCA and because of the problems [court battles] investors are not going to invest with you arguing with anyone,” he said.
Lewis and the turn club have been at loggerheads for some time now concerning rights to the facility. The businessman claims to have the only valid lease for the lands while the turf club argues they received government approval to utilize the facility.
Lewis also urged those leading the turf club to “take the bull by the horn” and get the facility cleaned.
“They believe just to run a sports club is just to talk, but it is not so because you must have some sort of funding or help in terms of an excavator, a Bobcat, something to cut the grass and keep the place descent, but they haven’t got none of that and all that I was trying to do to go forward, they pull it down. Why don’t they call Neil Cochrane to help them put it back where it should be? I looked around to see what they are doing and it’s a disgrace to how they have the place there. They all could buy a weed wacker and get some machetes and keep the place [track] looking properly,” he said.
Lewis recently appealed a 2018 High Court judgment in favour of the turf club and has pledged to take his fight all the way to the Privy Council if necessary.