Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Turf Club (BTC) Rosette Peirce has assured racing fans that although there are only eight starters in this year’s Sandy Lane Gold Cup, the quality of the horses and jockeys more than compensate for the numbers.
“We’ve only got eight runners in the Cup which has been met with negativity as we would have preferred the usual 10 to 12, but the quality far exceeds the quantity and we are more then happy with the level of competition this year. We believe it will be one of the best Gold Cup races in recent memory despite the reduced numbers,” Peirce told MIDWEEK SPORT in an interview on Monday.
“We have runners coming from the barn of Saffie Joseph Jr, who won the Pegasus Cup. Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown are internationally renowned trainers who have won just about every major international race and their horses will be competing.”
She added that the logistical planning of the 42nd edition of the prestigious race has been going well and highlighted some of the thoroughbreds and riders fans can expect to see this Saturday at the Garrison Savannah.
Overseas horses
“We’ve been organising this event for 20 years so, of course, we have the logistics figured out. Two of the horses from Trinidad and Tobago arrived last Thursday, and the other overseas horses are coming in tomorrow (Tuesday). Three more are coming from Trinidad and five are coming from the USA.” “From the Gay Smith barn are ‘ Smokin’ T’, ‘Jerry the Nipper’, and reigning champion ‘ Portfolio Company’ who is back to defend his crown. From Saffie Joseph Jr we have ‘ Harrow’ and ‘ Public Sector’. What we consider to be the local representatives would be ‘ Vividly’ and ‘ Show The Money’ who are the Barbados-based runners. ‘ The Goddess Nike’ from Trinidad, trained by champion trainer John O’Brien, adds another dimension to the race to rehash the old rivalry between Barbados and Trinidad.”
Peirce also shared some of the changes to the format of this year’s Gold Cup.
Betting
“We have a major change this year in terms of entertainment. We will have the pre- Gold Cup parade as usual but this year for the first time, the band will have Lil Rick performing at the end of the races as opposed to before. We wanted to try something different because we have been listening to public comments and we hope that by shifting it around we can get to the races on time for the sake of keeping in line with the advertised race times.”
“Betting is another major issue we have heard the public complaining about and the betting line-ups are huge. We have pre-raceday betting at the Garrison on Friday from three to seven p.m. and we offer wagering from your phones. So we want to encourage the public to use those other options to avoid disappointment. On our website, there are instructions for how to create a wagering account and add funds.”
On Friday there will be a few amateur races, foot races with the public and the staff for what will be a Fun Day, including prizes and giveaways.
Peirce also praised the Gold Cup’s sponsor Sandy Lane, which is also responsible for the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust now celebrating its 20th anniversary.
We believe it will be one of the best
Gold Cup races in recent memory despite the reduced numbers. (DG)
