KINGSTON, Jamaica - SEYMOUR Biggs has never known a life away from horses. He grew up observing his father, Eric Biggs, and other relatives exuding love and passion for horses, and their examples, he thought, were not only worth emulating but surpassing.
So he dove head first into racing, earning his groom’s licence in 1985 at age 19, and worked for the likes of Sydney Watson, Ren Gonzalves, Beverly Rhoden and Frank Parham, with varying degrees of success at Caymanas Park.
Years later in 1997, Biggs secured his owner’s licence and from there, revelled in the behind the scenes anonymity leading up to his migration to Canada in 2009.
To date, Biggs, 56, is still hard at it with the same passion as the men whose considerable influenced not only his racing operations but the family lineage as well.
“I was born in Spanish Town next door the biggest stable in Jamaica, which was called Melvin Park, and my father’s uncles were grooms there so, as you can see, I was destined for a future in horse racing,” said Biggs, who currently owns and trains horses at Century Mile in Canada.
“My brother Leroy Biggs was a trainer — he passed away a few years ago — and I have another brother, Dave Biggs, who still works at [Caymanas] track with Dale Murphy. And also Ralph Porter, the trainer, is a cousin of mine. So as you can see racing was always a part of me as my whole family was and still is a part of the industry,” he said.
Though he may not be viewed as a giant in the racing game, the possibility still exists that Biggs’ reputation could take flight later on, as he only secured his trainer’s licence in Canada late last year.
Despite only having five horses in training at present, the modest, earnest, and affable Biggs has already tasted success — and by all indications there will be more on the cards.
“Training at Century Mile is a challenge that I relish. My first two starts as a trainer last year finished fourth, then I had two more starters that came third, after which I won three races. Unfortunately, the third winner was disqualified for minor interference,” Biggs shared.
“But as I said, it is a good challenge that I welcome because horse racing is a sport of uncertainties and so I look forward to seeing what the future holds as the overall ambition is to be a top ten trainer and one day win the Canadian Derby,” he noted.
If his budding partnership with the accomplished Dane “Warrior Chief” Nelson, who is a four-time champion jockey at Caymanas Park, is anything to go by, then Biggs’ ambitions could soon be realised.
In fact, it was Nelson who piloted his first winner, Wheelsupinthirty, on June 4 this year.
“My relationship with Dane Nelson started last year when he came a bit late for the season because of the COVID-19 situation, and I gave him two rides aboard horses that I owned and he won both races. I was also told that I’m the first person of colour to own two horses that won on the same day in Alberta, and those two horses were Wheelsupinthirty and Backstreet Bobby.
“Interestingly, my first training winner was Wheelsupinthirty ridden by Dane Nelson, and on that same day I also got a second-place — beaten in a photo finish by a nose. So, the going is not bad so far, and given the talent of a rider like Dane Nelson, one can only hope for the best. Again, the goal is to have a really good racing stable and try to compete in the best races,” emphasised Biggs.
Still, Biggs admitted that there is a longing for home and is optimistic that sometime in the near future he will be able to make a return to Caymanas Park to assist in pushing the local racing product forward.
“We always have plans to come back home; in fact, I still own a house there,” he declared.
“I don’t have a time frame as to when it will be as yet but it stays in my thoughts because I would love to come for a few months to train some horses. I believe my knowledge could help the industry there if I get some good horses,” Biggs stated.
