Turf Club to host long awaited elections within days

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President of the Antigua Turf Club, Neil Cochrane, will not seek re-election to the post (File photo)
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By Neto Baptiste

The Antigua and Barbuda Turf Club (ABTC) will host its electoral congress on May 15 in hopes of installing a fresh executive to run the body’s affairs for the next two years.

This will be the turf club’s first election since 2018 and the first time a new president will be elected since sitting head, Neil Cochrane, was first elected in 2009.

Speaking recently on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, Cochrane confirmed that he will not seek another term in office.

“I would say that since the age of five I’ve been involved in horse racing, so it’s time to take a break and it’s time for others who may have a different perspective and believe there are different ways of achieving things to step up and take some of the burden,” he said. 

The two years of inactivity brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic — coupled with obstacles encountered during ongoing upgrades to the Cassada Gardens Racetrack — has resulted in very few races taking place at the facility. In January this year, Cochrane also revealed that it has also taken a toll on the horse racing stock.

The outgoing president, however, believes there are a number of competent individuals who are ready and willing to take the sport forward.

“We expect to have a new executive board in place to run the affairs of the Antigua Turf Club and racing at the Cassada Gardens Race Track, whether the combination is a mixture of new persons, new faces or old faces coming back [or] existing faces still on the board, we’ll see,” he said.

Cochrane said that at last count, a little over 20 members had paid their dues in full ahead of the May 8 cut-off date and will be eligible to vote during Monday’s meeting. The meeting will be held at JR’s Sports Bar and Grill located on Friars Hill Road. It is slated to start at 8pm.

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