Racehorse owner Clifford Bryan believes that in horse racing, no matter how many races and big purses an owner wins, in the end, owners are still losing.
Bryan said that all the bills concerning horses are paid by owners who have the responsibility to take care of their horses, and “sometimes those bills can be stressful”.
“We, as owners, spend more on our horses sometimes than we spend on our family, and I can guarantee you that. We don’t spend that amount of money on one of our children for the year. When you own three horses, every week and month, you have to find money to take care of your horses, and at times, the bill is huge,” Bryan stated.
“We all lose in the end. Owners lose in this game of horse racing. No owner wins in racing; the owner of She’s A Maneater loses. She’s A Maneater has won so many races, but check out the many years he owned horses before, and nothing happened. I am saying he is playing catch up now, even after winning two of the Diamond Mile races. We all lose; every owner loses.
“Sometimes, a trainer will get two horses from an owner, and that owner gets into a spot, and now it is the trainer who becomes the owner of that horse, and he [the trainer] has to take care of that horse.
“The trainer now has to pay those bills as every groom has to be paid every week, the sawdust man has to get pay, the blacksmith has to get pay, and even the exercise rider as well,” he continued.
Bryan said that while it was tough to care for his horses during the recent shutdown of operations at Caymanas Park due to COVID-19, he is happy racing has returned and hopes things will get better very soon.
“Welcome back the racing because we have spent so much, and I don’t think people appreciate that owners put a lot in racing. Owners are the headstone of the game; we are the ones that go and buy the horses; we are the ones that are paying all the bills, and sometimes we are not getting the respect for what we are doing.
“That’s what I think, because when you are out of racing for all of three months and we keep on asking when racing will resume, they [the promoter] keep on telling us this week, this week, and this week and we have to pay bills.
“Everyone who gets paid at the racetrack, it is the owner that pays them, from the sawdust man go right back to the trainers and grooms.
“The top level of it, I am glad, and I will come back and I hope it will work out and be successful this time. I hope that the COVID-19 does not spread and cause any problem for us again,” Bryan ended.
