By Bill Finley
Puerto Rico's Camarero racetrack will run a special one-day card Sunday, the first time the track has raced since the country was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The track last raced Sept. 14.
Sunday's card does not mean racing is ready to return on a full-scale basis at Camarero. The purpose of the mini-card is to give horses preparing for the Clasico Internacional del Caribe an opportunity to race. The race will be held Dec. 9 at Gulfstream, is worth $300,000 and is restricted to horses from Latin American countries. This will be the first time the race will have ever been run in the U.S. Puerto Rican based horses have won the race eight times. The leading country in terms of wins is Panama with 15.
Due to the problems Puerto Rico is still enduring, getting information out of that country or reaching racing officials there remains difficult. However, Gulfstream General Manager Bill Badgett Jr., said he believes there is a requirement that horses have qualifying races before being eligible to run in the Clasico Internacional del Caribe. It may also be that the horses performing on the card may simply need a race since there have been no opportunities of late for them to run in Puerto Rico.
The Equibase entries include only one race on the card, but TDN has learned there will actually be three. The main event is a mile-and-a-sixteenth race that includes many of the top horses on the island, several of whom are aiming for the Gulfstream race. The Equibase entries list the purse as $0.
The top horse in the field appears to be Justiciero (Coach Billy G.). He has won four straight races, three of them Grade I events. He will be ridden by Juan Carlos Diaz, Puerto Rico's leading jockey. Because racing has been shut down in Puerto Rico, Diaz recently relocated to South Florida and is riding at Gulfstream Park West. Justiciero is one of four horses in the eight-horse field.
Another race will be for riders who are currently enrolled in Puerto Rico's jockey school and the third event will be a trial race for 2-year-olds.
There is a mention in Spanish of the card on Camarero's Facebook page. The translation reads: “Come to Hipodromo Camarero this Sunday 29 October when we celebrate the second qualifying race for the Clasico del Caribe. There will be gifts for the first 100 people to visit us, Kiosks With Snacks and fun for the entire family in the open air. Join us in this special afternoon united by our hipism.”
Camarero management has yet to announce when the racetrack will resume a regular schedule of racing.
According to the latest available reports, 11 horses on the Camarero backside had to be euthanized due to problems related to the hurricane.
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