Caribbean

Many Jamaican jockeys have had success in North America, including Richard DePass who once had the record for the most winners in one day in the Guiness book. In addition, George HoSang won many championships in Canada. Charlie Hussey was the regular rider of Spend A Buck when he ran at Calder in Florida - a horse that later won the Kentucky Derby with a different jockey. Winston Thompson has won many races at Suffolk Downs in Boston and Tampa Bay Downs. Andrew Ramgeet is a leading jockey at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia. Barrington Harvey wins races on the west coast with regularity, especially on the fair circuit during the summer. Shane Ellis, the son of former champion jockey Winston Ellis, is a leading jockey in Canada. These are only a few. Hundreds of Jamaicans are employed as exercise riders and grooms in the U.S. and Canada and are given rave reviews by their employers. As a matter of fact, Winston Ellis, who has worked for Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens as an exercise rider for many years, is considered by his employer to be "the best in the business" and has been an integral part of the preparation of his many champions.
There have been few Jamaican horses that have competed on the international level. Perhaps the best was Thornbird, trained by Wayne DaCosta, who ran very well in the Caribbean Classic in Puerto Rico several years ago.
Horse Racing in Jamaica Today
As an industry, horse racing employs upwards of 20,000 people from jockeys to breeders, to trainers to bookmakers, grooms, and track employees (Lalor, 2006). Jamaica continues to dominate the production of horses in the Caribbean region and has produced a number of Hall of Fame trainers: Ralph Ziadie, Nigel Nunes, Kenneth Mattis, Billy Williams, Owen Silvera, Philip Feanny and Laurie Silvera to name a few. Classic racehorses such as None Such, Rameses and Legal Light are well known to racing fans. Interestingly, strong sires such as Zaleucus, Royal Minister and the Peace Maker are generally imported This is a market decision. Most of the breeders want to breed imported stallions. The economics of the game and the deterioration of the physical plant and racing product have made it uneconomical to import quality stock to Jamaica.
Horse Racing in Popular Culture
Popular interest in racing is tied to the general love of gambling and the implementation of a sweepstakes, the outcome of which was used to benefit hospitals, and the development of racing itself only added to the attraction. The "sweeps" soon made its way into popular culture becoming a feature in song and folklore. Perhaps the best-known song in which horse racing imagery is featured is 1968's Long Shot Kick the Bucket by the Pioneers, in which a horse with great stamina captures the public's imagination, even though he is not a champion.
The first lady of Jamaican poetry, Miss Lou, wrote a poem called Sweepstake in which a bettor turns to obeah for luck, wrapping up the sweepstakes ticket in nunu bush (used as a substitute for basil) which is believed to ward off evil spirits. (Senior, 2003, p. 256, 353).
Whatever the reason, horse racing has a strong foothold in Jamaican culture - it is a culture by itself according to prize-winning trainer Anthony 'Baba" Nunes, "Any given Wednesday and Saturday, if you visit Caymanas, you will see a capacity crowd and that number only increases on the traditional big race days - the Digicel Jamaica Derby and the Red Stripe Superstakes."