Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Sales (June 20, 2004)
The race for
Caymanas Park
Two consortiums - one led by Richard
Azan and the other by Richard Lake, both well-known horse racing personalities -
were the only bidders for Caymanas Park when the Government's sale offer closed
last Monday.
A third interest, Woodbine Racetrack out of
Canada, which had shown an interest in acquiring Jamaica's only horseracing
track, pulled out.
"They (Woodbine) wanted to negotiate
directly with the Government and did not want to be a part of any local
consortium," said a highly placed source.
The Government had extended the sale offer by
a fortnight "to ensure that some technical information that bidders needed
was adequately circulated to all interested parties", Fitz Jackson, the
junior finance minister who has responsibility for gaming, told journalists two
Fridays ago.
Exactly one year ago, Finance Minister Dr Omar
Davies advised that the Government was planning to divest the racetrack by
inviting lease offers from investors willing to pump up to $500 million into the
complex.
The Administration, Davies said, was resolute
that Caymanas Park had to be upgraded to a modern racetrack that was financially
viable.
The racetrack is operated by Caymanas Track Ltd
(CTL), a state-owned firm that promotes horse racing. It was established in the
1980s when the Government intervened to save the industry after the previous
promoters of horse racing, Racing Promotions Ltd, folded.
Although CTL, which has an approximate
turnover of $3 billion annually will be divested as an ongoing operational
company, its main asset - the racetrack - will be leased long-term to the new
CTL owners.
The two bidders have a long association with
local horse racing - Azan as an owner and a trainer and Lake mainly as an owner
and a breeder.
Azan has won the prestigious Owners'
Championship on more than one occasion and has been associated with top flight
campaigner Menudo - winner of the Red Stripe Superstakes four consecutive times.
Azan is also a prominent businessman and owns
Ralaica Trading through which he distributes clothing and other material.
Lake has won the Owner's Championship in the
past and is the owner of the breeding establishment, Lakeland Farms, located off
the Port Henderson Road in St Catherine. His family also controls the Burger
King and Popeye's fast-food franchises in Jamaica.
Lake's other business interest includes cambios,
real estate development and construction sector merchandising.
He was a member of the Danny Melville-led
board of directors of CTL from the early 1990s to March 2001.
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