THE Philippine Racing Commission sent its executive director, veterinarian Andrew Rovie Buencamino, to represent the Philippines at the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ International Movement of Horses Committee Conference held last week in Hong Kong.
Buencamino said that at the conference, “we’re generally discussing horse movement, permanent and temporary. Some presentations have been done on equine disease local outbreak and the protocols adapted after their encounter of the problem.”
He added the discussion was “quite interesting because you get to see that advanced regulatory procedures should not be limited by rules of racing. Quarantine and disease prevention should be given separate but equally important attention if we wish to compete internationally sometime.”
Buencamino also mentioned that updates were given to the conference attendees about “drug testing, specifically protocols on challenges.”
“Quite a lot has to be invested,” he explained, “if we really want to have drug testing. More than on the infrastructure, investment should be made on institutional development.”
Hong Kong is one of the biggest horseracing jurisdictions in the world. For comparison, while Philracom is looking to acquire one drug testing machine worth P2 million that will function non-stop to accommodate our daily races, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has 40 machines for their racing meets which are usually held Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from early September to mid-July. Philippine racing grosses an average of P8 billion a year, while HKJC turnover for the 2016 Longines Hong Kong International Races event held last week was at HK$2.7 billion or P17.2 billion for two race meetings in four days. In other words, what we earn in a year, they earn in a day of big races.
But then again, their apples are bigger than our bananas because racing is more popular there than here, due in a large part to the difference in cultures. We can comfort ourselves with the thought that racing has survived in this country for nearly 150 years, and that the industry gives jobs, creates businesses, and supports agricultural and sports development.
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Congratulations to jockey Antonio “Oyet” B. Alcasid Jr. who last week begun his orientation as understudy to the racing manager of the Philippine Racing Club, Inc.’s Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.
Alcasid comes to the job with more than 30 years’ experience and familiarity in the industry. After completing a degree in electronics and communications engineering, Alcasid entered the industry as a rider. Over the years, he has won nearly all of the major races, maintained his status in the top ten rankings for most of his career, and cemented a reputation as an able jockey, stable master, horse conditioner, and jockeys association director.
At 52, he now bows out from professional riding to enter horseracing operations. Alcasid will be putting his expertise in track safety and other racetrack issues as well as the relationships he has developed over the decades within the industry to good use to help develop PRCI’s competence in this area.
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Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.