My Journey with Thoroughbreds

By Howard Hamilton

Jamaica was captured from Spain by the British in 1655, and by 1752, the island was already developing an enviable reputation for breeding race horses.

The book offers a tour d'horizon of thoroughbred horse racing in Jamaica from those early days to the present, presenting its problems and its possibilities from the point of view of one of the country's most seasoned experts.

A special feature of the publication is the Jamaica Derby Gallery. In 2020, the Jamaica Derby will be run for the 100th consecutive year. Race statistics, and with only very few exceptions, a commentary on the race and a representative image are presented, providing for lovers of the sport a unique and fascinating record of a century of first class racing in Jamaica.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jan 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543756180

Howard Hamilton

Howard Hamilton was introduced to the racetrack by his father when he was about eight years old and the Sport of Kings has remained an overriding passion for him ever since. During his many decades as a devotee of horse racing he has been a successful breeder, a high profile owner, bookmaker, competent administrator and renowned racing columnist in his home country Jamaica. His passion has also made him a regular at many of the most famous tracks around the world to experience the unrivalled thrill of thoroughbreds racing towards the finish line.

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Howard Hamilton.

Library of Congress Control Number:    2020900600

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-5437-5620-3

                            Softcover                          978-1-5437-5619-7

                            eBook                                978-1-5437-5618-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

Contents

FOREWORD

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1   MY JOURNEY

CHAPTER 2   A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF HORSE RACING IN JAMAICA

CHAPTER 3   BETTING AND GAMING

CHAPTER 4   BREEDING

CHAPTER 5   THE JAMAICA DERBY

CHAPTER 6   SOME KEY PERSONALITIES IN JAMAICAN HORSE RACING

CHAPTER 7   JOCKEYS

CHAPTER 8   THE WAY FORWARD

APPENDIX I

DERBY GALLERY

APPENDIX II

FOREWORD

I can testify that owning a thoroughbred racehorse is the ultimate thrill afforded humankind. It is an endeavour that combines nobility and sportsmanship in a completely unique way. The racehorse owner is given entry into a special realm where the excitement of sport is overlaid by an ancient mystique and majesty.

Horses are nature’s most majestic creatures and are superbly proportioned. Their obedience, willingness, and nobility of spirit enable them to be trained into superb and courageous athletes. The ultimate heroes on the racetrack are never a horse’s owner, trainer, or jockey, but the animal itself. Horse-lovers will never find a more rewarding sport in which to become involved.

Horse racing is as old as civilisation itself. While racing today is ultra-modern and utilises all the latest technological innovations, it has an earthy, primitive dimension to it that stirs up the most basic human urges. It is a heart-thudding, throat-catching sport that surpasses all other contests in its drama and intensity. The sound of racing hooves beating the turf was first heard long before the Christian era. Prehistoric tribesmen wandering the plains of Central Asia felt a natural urge to race the sleek, imposing animals they had tamed. Ancient races were no doubt thrilling and furious affairs, with riders desperate to prove the supremacy of their magnificent mounts.

Modern racing, it is recognised, had its roots in the twelfth century, when English knights brought speedy Arab horses back from the Crusades. Over the next several centuries, racing became the pastime of kings, knights, and noblemen, and this continued to be the case when it became a professional sport under the reign of Queen Anne (1702–1714).

Racing today still owes much to the spirit of pageantry and heraldry that accompanied earlier equine contests. Modern owners, after all, procure coloured silks that represent their good and honourable names among the ranks of their contemporaries. Victory at the track, as in early times, brings triumph to the bearers of winning colours, as well as appreciable financial rewards. Investing in horse racing is somewhat comparable to investing in other leisure activities. It involves intelligence, consideration of all factors, and a full appreciation of the nature of the game.

But there is more than a little need to befriend a special lady called Luck, who bestows or withholds favours in accordance with her notoriously fickle nature. Yet she has bedded down with many suitors and brought them very sizeable rewards.

While racing is characterised by risk and uncertainty, it can bring financial rewards of a quite spectacular nature. Stakes on offer in the industry are attractive, and the great thing about good horses is their ability to win or place again and again. A good horse pays its way and puts its owner well ahead.

The principle that money makes money applies to some degree in racing, but it is also true that a small first-time owner can enjoy success with a shrewd purchase. Those initial successes can pave the way to a greater and increasingly lucrative involvement in ‘the greatest game in town’. If a neophyte spends carefully to join a racing partnership or two, his entree into the racing world is accomplished. After that, anything is possible. For a limited investment, all the fun of the track is there to be enjoyed and celebrated. The game is often kind to enthusiastic newcomers, who, a few years later, find themselves major players in a fabulous field of endeavour. ‘Why didn’t I start earlier?’ is the common refrain of such participants.

For successful owners, the financial rewards may be described by adjectives ranging from good to incredible. Given that our biggest races carry seven-figure stakes, it is not uncommon for the owners of champions to make substantial profits from their runners. But even lower down the scale, there are significant financial rewards for solid performers. Also, it is possible that a single minor placing in a month can cover full stabling fees for that horse in a given month. Even when runners do not perform as well as expected, they provide their owners with great pleasure, and the days on which they race are always filled with excitement and anticipation.

The astute owner never looks back. As his knowledge of the game increases, he uses his winnings to invest in better horses. The momentum increases, and the rewards follow. After that, it’s a thrill a minute and is more than able to pay for itself.

When things reach the stage where your investments are ticking over in the time-honoured tradition of a good, solid portfolio, the racing world becomes your oyster. Like rulers of old, you will be a potentate in a special kingdom.

Unlike monarchies, the racing world has room for several kings of the turf. Why not try to become one!

PREFACE

This publication by Howard Hamilton is a much-needed tribute to an unsung innovator. It is a story which deserves to be told.

Throughout his adult life, he has cared about horse racing and has fought for it, and few, if any, have contributed so much to the sport as owner and breeder. A visionary in all that he has done to improve the sport, Howard’s journey has taken him far and wide, to horse-racing tracks large and small, and he has followed the dream that led him to the side of movers and shakers. It can be argued that he has played as great a part in shaping Jamaica’s horse-racing structure as anyone has done. Howard knows racehorses, riders, breeders, and trainers; he knows our history, and he knows how they all combine.

Such a rich CV gives Howard the right to lead the reader down a number of intriguing paths, and it becomes clear, as the journey through the book unfolds, that Howard’s love affair with the sport can be described as eternal.

He loves it, warts and all, and it is this that gives the book, from the starting gate to the wire, the rich entertainment of a story well told.

Dr the Hon. Dennis Lalor, OJ

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is typical of the English to impose their habits and predilections on any society they have conquered or otherwise subjugated. Jamaica was captured from Spain by the British in 1655; evidently, horse racing must have been introduced soon after, for by 1752, the island was already developing an enviable reputation for breeding racehorses.

The history of horse racing in Jamaica, from its beginnings up to the mid twentieth century, was copiously documented by Samuel Constantine Burke in his unpublished manuscript, A History of Racing in Jamaica. In this current book, references to that period rely heavily on Burke’s meticulous reports.

Horse racing in Jamaica from the second half of the twentieth century to the present is told from a more personal perspective—my own—and deals more broadly with the development (and constraints to development) of the industry. My interest in horse racing started early in my life, as I was introduced to the track by my father when I was about eight years old. The sport was to become an overriding passion for me, one which has remained so ever since.

As already mentioned, I am enormously indebted to the writings of Samuel Constantine Burke, who died in 1953 at the great age of eighty-six. Born in Jamaica, he was educated at Harrow and Cambridge in England, where, in addition to reading for the Bar, he boxed, played polo, hunted, drove four-in-hand coaches, bred fox terriers, and fought game cocks—becoming, as a result, an authority on all these forms of sport. As is evident from A History of Racing in Jamaica, sport must have been a consuming passion, although Burke was also highly regarded for his professional conduct in his day-to-day job of dispensing justice as a resident magistrate for Jamaica, sitting on the bench for some four decades.

I hope this book will serve as a tribute to Samuel Constantine Burke, continuing his work in chronicling the racing industry, even if from a different (but equally passionate) point of view.

This book would never have been possible without the early encouragement of the Hon. Dennis Lalor and the former chairman of the Jamaica Racing Commission, Rudy Muir. It was back in 2001 that we had a budget approval for the research work and writing of a comprehensive history of thoroughbred racing in Jamaica. We commissioned a well-known historian and writer from the university to start work on the book. Unfortunately, she had a serious debilitating accident and had to return to her home in Canada, and all work on the book came to a halt.

At about that time, I had started writing a weekly column, Horse Sense, for the Daily Gleaner, and my good friend from the Bahamas, Basil Smith, kept insisting that I put together those articles in a book. He had recently written and published a number of books in the Bahamas.

It was back in 2012 that he eventually convinced me to undertake the project, with the understanding that we would do all the collating and writing together. Thus began what has turned out to be a most exciting journey, as we searched the archives at the national institute, the different jockey clubs, the Daily Gleaner archives, and the libraries and memories of many friends with an interest in racing. We are grateful to Marvin Pitterson for a constant supply of pictures and Derek White for providing historical documents, including the first stud book compiled by Thomas Palache.

The contribution of Mrs Judy Browne from Y. S. Estates is most appreciated since she gave me access to the historical records meticulously kept by her late husband, Tony Browne.

Unfortunately, Basil had to return to the Bahamas, and work remained dormant for some time, until Sonia Mills, in an unusual conversation, agreed to have a look at what was done and whether she could be of any assistance. She was a literal godsend and, along with her daughter, Mischa, was a tower of strength, being the driving force to motivate a most lethargic and laid-back author.

In the final stages, the typing and corrections were a labour of love by Yvonne Brown, secretary/manager of the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association. The many hours we spent cutting and pasting and shifting is a testament to the interest which this book has generated.

And my wife, Marlene—Marlene, my love—what would I do without her? Her annoying persistence and constant agitation to finish this book is a lasting testament to her abiding interest in seeing this book completed.

So here it is. I hope it will be a treasure to not only the lovers of the sport of kings but to all interested in a good story.

Howard L. Hamilton, CD, JP

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Howard Lloyd Hamilton, CD, JP

Born in the hills of St Mary, where he received his early education, Howard Hamilton came to Kingston in 1951 and was enrolled in one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the English-speaking Caribbean, Wolmer’s School for Boys; he had been granted one of the six government scholarships available at that time. He went on to have a distinguished career in the chemical industry at the Shell Company (WI) Ltd, where he rose to the position of general manager in 1976.

He hs earned recognition from Jamaica for his civic work by being awarded the national honour of Order of Distinction (Commander Class).

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Howard Hamilton

He is perhaps best known, however, for his association with horse racing, which has spanned a period of nearly fifty years. One of the industry’s largest investors, this distinguished racing enthusiast has been a truly outstanding contributor to the sport of kings. He has been involved in almost every aspect of the sport/business, with maybe one exception: that of being a jockey. A successful breeder, high-profile owner, bookmaker, competent administrator, and renowned racing columnist, he has been the unique embodiment of excellence, innovation, dedication, integrity, and visionary leadership.

As racing administrator, Howard has served as chairman of the promoting company on two separate occasions. He was head of Racing Promotions Ltd (RPL) from 1976 to 1984 and chairman of Caymanas Track Ltd (CTL) in 2001. He also served as president of the Owners’ Association in the 1970s and is president of the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association, a position he has held from 1996 to the present.

CHAPTER 1

MY JOURNEY

My journey with thoroughbreds started when I was only seven or eight years old. It was then that I began my lifelong love affair with horses.

In his book Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations (2008), J. Edward (Ted) Chamberlin tells us that horse comes from a word meaning ‘swift running’. On flat ground, horses can run at speeds of up to forty miles per hour, and horses can run a very long way. ‘The second thing (about horses)’, Chamberlin says, ‘is more subtle. It has to do with quality, with style rather than speed, with grace rather than power.’ It is this combination of athleticism and grace that has completely seduced me over all these decades. I admit it was the love of animals more than anything else that got me started; the excitement of wagering came afterwards, and in more recent years, ownership and breeding were to become the focal point of my involvement.

I was introduced to the track by my father, Sydney Hamilton, who took me to the races at the Little Marlie racetrack in Old Harbour and to Knutsford Park in Kingston.

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My Father Sydney Hamilton

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Pleshey Stone, (A. Jones) staggering back to the unsaddling enclosure after she won the 1½ miles Harry Jackson Memorial Cup on which the Jamaica Turf June Sweepstakes was drawn on Saturday 28th June 1958 at Little Ascot. The 4.yo.ch.f. collapsed and died in the winners box. At right is trainer Alty McKenzie. Owned by Joe Armond.

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Knutsford Park, soon to become New Kingston, 1950

My grandfather, Henry Hamilton, whom I never knew, reportedly owned horses. I used to hear stories about him racing horses down in Roaring River and other places back in the plantocracy days.

My father would dress appropriately and sit in the stands at Knutsford Park, but by and large, I could not go into the stands where those people were; I had to content myself by staying in the area where the ‘smaller folk’ were. And so, from an early age, I got to know the runnings and became quite familiar with the characters who operated backstage—the stable hands, the grooms, the jockeys. Of course, I was an innocent then. I was brought up to believe that horse racing was a lesson in honesty, purity, and dignity. It was introduced to me as ‘the sport of kings’, and for all my life, my greatest pleasure has been derived from participation in this wonderful sport.

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Dapper Dan

Prior to the opening of Knutsford Park in 1905, races in Kingston were always held at Kingston Race Course (now National Heroes Park) on the second Tuesday in December and would last three days. This date was fixed by a law which granted the Queen’s purse and which spoke to this issue. The races thus became the start of the Christmas season, when visitors from the country would flock to Kingston to participate in the festivities. In fact, the horses scheduled to compete would arrive two or three weeks before the fixed dates, so every morning, there would be throngs of persons at the Kingston Race Course, anxious to see the horses at work and keen to spot a prospective winner.

Mr J. Thompson Palache, quoting from a Kingston newspaper in 1886,¹ provided a fair idea of what took place at that time, and this continued into my own days at the racecourse.

On these mornings, the race presented a curious sight. Long before dawn a considerable crowd of several thousand people would be collected round the coffee stalls and fruit sellers (most of whom spent the night on the race course) and twinkling lights from the many oil lamps as they flicked in the cool morning breeze, gave the impression of fireflies. This early morning picnic continued until dawn began to break, and with it came the different strings of horses to do their ‘trial heats’. Between dawn and sunrise, there was a continuous roar of hoof beats, as each batch of horses did their work, and by seven o’clock the horses had gone back to their stables, and the course had cleared. In those days, and up to the early ’90’s, it used to be the custom to parade all the horses which were entered for races at 11.00 AM on the Saturday before the races in front of the store of Mr John MacDonald in Harbour Street. This was a very popular function and was always watched by a large crowd. All traffic along Harbour Street was stopped while the horses were led down Church Street, along Harbour Street and then up the land back to their stables.

John MacDonald’s store was the rendezvous of all the sporting fraternity of the island, and was the first place to which everybody went when they came to Kingston. It was a sort of unofficial club, of a most exclusive nature. Mr MacDonald was