Rains keep stable doors shut as 'stakeholders' eye Christmas
Officials of the Royal Turf Club (RTC), Sri Lanka Turf Club (SLTC) and Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners' Association (TROA) met last Saturday for an informal discussion on the possibilities of conducting a Horse race event, last held in April this year, in the coming weeks.
Although the decisions reached at the meeting are unclear, it is understood that the possibility of having a Christmas Day Meet is high, pending confirmation. These officials are expected to meet again for another round of discussions, to make the intended final Race day a reality.
"TROA is only interested in holding regular races to keep their thoroughbred horses in prime, and we are not interested in any other matter. The meeting brought about some understanding, but we felt that more needs to be done to get both these clubs to bury their respective opinions. The meeting ended with the possibility of a Christmas Race, jointly between RTC and SLTC, with the full cooperation of the TROA. However, it was only discussed and not confirmed," a senior TROA official said.
The RTC has failed to conduct a single race event since April, and events that were planned for August, September and October had to be called off due to the rainy weather that prevailed for months. The RTC even had discussions with a delegation of TROA few weeks back, to explore the possibilities of organising a a couple of race events-- one each in November and December. However, with the incessant rainy weather, the November race was abandoned, with only the December Race day remaining.
"We are confident of concluding 2017 with a successful Race day. All of us at RTC, as well as the trainers, owners, jockeys and other stakeholders are eagerly looking forward to conducting a race in December, though it is too early to confirm an exact date, given the unsettled weather conditions which, hopefully, should cease," said RTC President Panduka Keerthinanda.