Rain sparks slew of refunds at Caymanas Park

Jockeys riding at Caymanas Park yesterday deemed the racing surface unsafe after a downpour of rain made the track sloppy from the seventh race, resulting in the abandonment of the last two events on the 10-race programme.

Trainers waiting to saddle runners for the ninth event were seen exiting the saddling barn with gear in hand after riders failed to emerge from the jockeys’ room for the five-furlong round sprint for three-year-old maiden fillies.

At approximately 4:53 p.m., commentator Brian Rickman announced the abandonment, which steward Nigel Hinds confirmed.

“Majority of the riders for the last two races said they did not feel comfortable because of the amount of water that was on the track,” said Hinds.

Rickman later announced a slew of refunds for bettors holding win, place, exacta, quinella, trifecta, superfecta and hi-five tickets for the last two races.

Among the announcements made, Rickman advised that the pending double, which started with PRINCE AMAAN winning the eighth race, would be paid on “all” in the ninth, whereas doubles starting on race nine and ending on 10 would be refunded, similar to triples covering races seven through 10.

The Twilight 6 and Ketch 9 bets, both with two races pending, were paid on “all” in the ninth and 10th races, respectively.

Other refunds included the Strike 4, races seven to 10, as well as the Five Star, races six to 10, and the Place pot 8, which covered races three to 10.

Meanwhile, Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited also announced that exercise gallops for this morning were cancelled, citing, “heavy rainfall and active flash-flood warnings”.

“The track will be closed for all training activity for the day. The safety of our horses, riders and staff is our top priority. Our track maintenance-team will assess the surface once the weather clears and the track has had time to drain

“We will send an update as soon as we have more information on the track’s condition and the schedule for resuming exercise,” a Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited release stated.

Earlier, Spencer Chung’s three-year-old American, DREAMBEACHDREAMING, clocked 1:25.0 for seven furlongs, dismissing rivals in the seventh race by five and three-quarter lengths for his second consecutive win.

The Slumber-Manitou Moon gelding debuted with a come-from-behind win at five and a half furlongs on August 29.

DREAMBEACHDREAMING, bought for US$14,000 as a two-year-old last June at the Florida Ocala Sale, made light work of the small field, leading six furlongs out with Ian Spence before shaking off fellow American OLIVIA D’ORO at the half-mile marker.

Jamaica Derby runner-up, MAVERICK, tried chasing the far-striding American up the lane but was no match after Spence roused the gelding inside the final furlong.

DREAMBEACHDREAMING is a son of Great Britain-bred Slumber, a multiple stakes winner on grass in both England and the United States, the only stallion standing in New York to have sired graded-stakes winners in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 since entering stud in 2017.

October’s month of racing closes next Saturday.