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THE BERBICE Bridge Incorporated yesterday made good on its commitment to support the Bush Lot, Corentyne-based Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) Phagwah meeting, set for this Sunday, when their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Omadat Samaroo handed over a cheque for an undisclosed sum at its Main Street, Georgetown boardroom. Receiving on behalf of the KMTC were its honorary president and (Rtd) Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard, who thanked the sponsor for the worthy support, adding that such gestures make sports and sporting events successful.
“For the third time, the Berbice Bridge Inc. will be on board with KMTC, sponsoring three of our horserace meetings on our calendar this year, beginning with the Phagwah meeting.
“As I have said before, sponsorship is necessary for the successful promoting of any event and we are very pleased with this gesture being shown by the Berbice Bridge Inc., as it helps to make the event a successful one,” stated Kennard.
The KMTC head said the response from horse owners and trainers alike was very good, with some of them requesting an extension on the deadline to submit their entries to today (yesterday), a request that was acceded to by the club.
In brief remarks, Samaroo said his company received a request from the secretary of KMTC late last year, who outlined the club’s programme for this year which fitted into his company’s budget quiet easily.
“Further to that request, we also received a budget from the club, which outlined their expenses for the four proposed meetings held each year, namely the Phagwah, Independence, Emancipation and Boxing Day meetings.
Having looked at it thoroughly, we decided to go with three of those events, commencing with the Phagwah race meet, with the aim of making all three bigger and better, since we recognise that horseracing, like cricket, brings people from all over the country together,” stated Samaroo.
He added, “The sport creates great attractions not only to Berbicians, but those fans who come from as far as Linden and at times the West Coast of Demerara and even Suriname to witness the events, while the proceeds are used by the club to upgrade and upkeep the track and facilities there.
“Reflecting on the negative way some people view the Berbice Bridge based on their toll fees, Samaroo said a survey was done before the prices were attached as it relates to crossing with the ferry that was used in comparison to the bridge which was commissioned and opened to vehicular traffic on December 24, 2008.
“We did a survey before we agreed to the various prices which one has to pay to cross the bridge and what we noticed is that the $2 200 which is being paid by a car as a toll fee is similar to what you would have paid to cross with the ferry.
“Added to that, it takes about 15 minutes to cross via the bridge while persons who used the ferry (whose service I am not being critical of) prior to the building of the bridge, would have a waiting time of close to one hour at times, while they also have to pay a fee for excess cargo,” stated Samaroo.
In addition to sponsoring the horserace meeting, Samaroo said his company was fulfilling its obligation as a corporate citizen by offering toll-free crossing to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), school tours and the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, just to name a few, while they recently joined forces with the New Amsterdam-based Flying Ace Cycle Club.
He later handed over a trophy to Kennard, which will be presented to the winner of the feature race which covers a distance of one mile and caters for horses classified B and Lower by the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA).
Samaroo said, “Our sponsorship will cover for the entire B and Lower as well as the J, I and Lower races which precede the feature event and covers a distance of seven furlongs; for as I said before, our aim is to make this event and the other two we are sponsoring on the KMTC calendar this year, bigger and better.”
Other sponsors for the event are Giftland OfficeMax, N and S Mattai, Pomeroon Oil Company, Top Notch Auto Sales, Kanhai’s (Guyana) Electrical Agency, Demerara Distillers Limited, Ministry of Tourism and Mike’s Pharmacy, just to name a few.
“For the third time, the Berbice Bridge Inc. will be on board with KMTC, sponsoring three of our horserace meetings on our calendar this year, beginning with the Phagwah meeting.
“As I have said before, sponsorship is necessary for the successful promoting of any event and we are very pleased with this gesture being shown by the Berbice Bridge Inc., as it helps to make the event a successful one,” stated Kennard.
The KMTC head said the response from horse owners and trainers alike was very good, with some of them requesting an extension on the deadline to submit their entries to today (yesterday), a request that was acceded to by the club.
In brief remarks, Samaroo said his company received a request from the secretary of KMTC late last year, who outlined the club’s programme for this year which fitted into his company’s budget quiet easily.
“Further to that request, we also received a budget from the club, which outlined their expenses for the four proposed meetings held each year, namely the Phagwah, Independence, Emancipation and Boxing Day meetings.
Having looked at it thoroughly, we decided to go with three of those events, commencing with the Phagwah race meet, with the aim of making all three bigger and better, since we recognise that horseracing, like cricket, brings people from all over the country together,” stated Samaroo.
He added, “The sport creates great attractions not only to Berbicians, but those fans who come from as far as Linden and at times the West Coast of Demerara and even Suriname to witness the events, while the proceeds are used by the club to upgrade and upkeep the track and facilities there.
“Reflecting on the negative way some people view the Berbice Bridge based on their toll fees, Samaroo said a survey was done before the prices were attached as it relates to crossing with the ferry that was used in comparison to the bridge which was commissioned and opened to vehicular traffic on December 24, 2008.
“We did a survey before we agreed to the various prices which one has to pay to cross the bridge and what we noticed is that the $2 200 which is being paid by a car as a toll fee is similar to what you would have paid to cross with the ferry.
“Added to that, it takes about 15 minutes to cross via the bridge while persons who used the ferry (whose service I am not being critical of) prior to the building of the bridge, would have a waiting time of close to one hour at times, while they also have to pay a fee for excess cargo,” stated Samaroo.
In addition to sponsoring the horserace meeting, Samaroo said his company was fulfilling its obligation as a corporate citizen by offering toll-free crossing to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), school tours and the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, just to name a few, while they recently joined forces with the New Amsterdam-based Flying Ace Cycle Club.
He later handed over a trophy to Kennard, which will be presented to the winner of the feature race which covers a distance of one mile and caters for horses classified B and Lower by the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA).
Samaroo said, “Our sponsorship will cover for the entire B and Lower as well as the J, I and Lower races which precede the feature event and covers a distance of seven furlongs; for as I said before, our aim is to make this event and the other two we are sponsoring on the KMTC calendar this year, bigger and better.”
Other sponsors for the event are Giftland OfficeMax, N and S Mattai, Pomeroon Oil Company, Top Notch Auto Sales, Kanhai’s (Guyana) Electrical Agency, Demerara Distillers Limited, Ministry of Tourism and Mike’s Pharmacy, just to name a few.
