THE NEXT GENERATION - Meet trainer Jason DaCosta

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Most people who have had even a fleeting acquaintance with the late trainer Wayne DaCosta knew that one of his nicknames was ‘The Kid’.
Now it seems that there is a new “Kid” on the block.
When the overnight programme was made available on Wednesday afternoon for the 11 races to be run at Caymanas Park on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, the name of Jason DaCosta appeared on the list of trainers for the first time.
Jason is the son of Wayne, the former 18-time champion trainer who unfortunately passed away early on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 as a result of COVID-19 complications.
Jason has effectively taken over his father’s stables and will start horses for the first time in Jamaica. He has five horses nominated on the Tuesday programme — Above All Links, My Time Now, Ianzha Links, Morse Code and It’s A Boy.
The young DaCosta gained his experience and was licensed in the United States and developed his stables first in state of Florida and then in Ohio. He has been taking care of affairs at his father’s stables for the last three to four weeks.
Jason left Jamaica in 2008 and started training in the United States in 2009.
“I started out in racing with my dad as a kid coming to the track on weekends. It was really just fun for me. I was young, just learning everything I could from my dad and enjoying all in racing. While going to school, I also did a couple of summers with him and after I left high school I wanted to go straight to the track with him, but he and my mother said no. “You have to finish college first,” they demanded. That advice was heeded and I went off to college. I did two years and came back to the track in Jamaica and did five years of apprenticeship under his tutelage. I then went overseas and got my certification to become a licensed trainer at Calder in Miami as I was denied acceptance in the local programme,” Jason DaCosta told this publication.
He then shared that his first winner was a filly by the name of Miss Aristocrat at the Calder racetrack in Miami, who was a winner first time out in a maiden event.
“My first stakes winner was with Silver Cloud; he won the Summit of Speed contest at Calder. Silver Cloud is one of the best horses that I have trained thus far in my career,” Jason DaCosta shared.
As to leaving Jamaica and plying his trade in the US, Jason DaCosta said: “I missed the racing here, but it was a good move for me as I have done pretty well so far. I have a nice string of horses and I am doing pretty good for myself. The experience I gathered from my father helped me through difficult times all trainers have to face at some point in their [career] . Horse racing is a tough game, it is a tough business and you have to work hard if you want to get to the top of your game as it is what you put into it is what you will get out of it. I was well prepared by dad to meet the challenges.”
According to Equibase, the well known and established data analytics website in the US, Jason DaCosta’s overall record now stands at 2,316 starts, 376 firsts, 347 second-places finishes and 314 thirds.
In 2021, he has made 72 starts with nine firsts, 12 seconds and five thirds.