By Neto Baptiste
An arrangement with ‘investment partners’ could see the importation of over 50 horses to aid in the resumption of racing once the redevelopment of the Cassada Gardens Racetrack is completed.
This is according to President of the Antigua Turf Club (ATC) Hansen Richards, who said he has spoken with investors regarding the country’s racing stock.
“I have spoken to my investment partners in relation to acquiring horses and there is a gentlemen’s agreement to acquire 60 horses for the horsemen. The pricing, I cannot disclose that as yet because we don’t have that but we are going to purchase the horses, bring them to Antigua because at the end of the day, you need blood stock to resume horseracing,” he said.
Work has commenced at the country’s lone horseracing facility with focus on the construction of a dam and reshaping of the track as part of phase one of the project. Richards had announced his intentions to partner with a UK-based group willing to invest US $30 million into the redevelopment of the facility ahead of his election in May last year.
He said talks have already begun with at least one other regional club regarding assistance in other areas once the facility opens here.
“I just returned from Trinidad a few days ago and I had a discussion with the board members for the Arima Race Club to see how we could partner with getting some things out of Trinidad even though their racing has fallen off a little bit, they are now getting back on stream and we are looking to establish a partnership with them as well as Barbados and Jamaica … to see if we could have an integrated racing circuit where all of us can be supportive of each other through gaming and racing against each other and so forth,” he said.
There has been no racing at the track in over two years, mainly due to deterioration of the track and a depleting horse stock.
