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Sharpe: Return of racing at Caymanas to fill ‘big void’
November 10, 2025
Chairman of Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), Solomon Sharpe, pointed out that the return of live horse racing at Caymanas Park will provide a much-needed boost for fans, horsemen, and the broader racing community, many of whom rely on the sport for their livelihood.
Live racing is set to resume on Saturday, November 15, marking the first of consecutive Saturday-Sunday meets, featuring the rescheduled Jamaica Cup Day, which was originally slated for Saturday, November 8.
"I am very excited that we are going to be having live racing, and I guess with all the feedback that we have been getting from people out there is that when there is no live racing, there is a big void out there," he underscored.
"It shows you how important it is to our socio-economic fabric. With all the entertainment value and other things that racing brings, it is going to give back the horse people the opportunity to make back their monies because that is how they make their living, and so everyone is delighted to have it back," Sharpe said.
The SVREL chairman noted that while not all Off Track Betting (OTB) outlets will be ready in time for the much-anticipated restart, he is thrilled that the sport will finally return this weekend.
"We will be ready for racing on Saturday. There is more lighting and there is more connectivity so we are still at about 60 per cent of our capacity, but we still hope to improve closer to the race day," Sharpe said.
He explained that recovery efforts have been especially challenging for the island's OTB network, as many locations suffered extensive infrastructural damage.
"The OTBs out west they are not just affected by electricity, but their infrastructure would have been severely damaged, so they need to have satellite dishes as well. So that is where the problem is when you have a business setup like ours," he explained.
"But we have to go ahead with what we have, and so anybody who is ready by Saturday, those are who we have to go with," he noted.
Approximately 70 per cent of Caymanas Park's sales come from off-site bets placed at OTBs, more than 40 per cent of which sustained damage from Hurricane Melissa. There are over 100 OTB retailers islandwide.
Despite the obstacles, Sharpe assured that the racetrack itself is ready and in excellent condition.
"The racetrack is ready because we have had great exercises with no problems, but we are just in the last part of tweaking the broadcast area and cell towers, and we still have a couple of stables that we are waiting on some equipment for."
