DR STEVE BENNETT, who claims he is in "the departure lounge of life, but still has something to contribute to the sport of horse racing", is calling on the Ministry of Education to build a jockeys school to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago continue to produce top-class riders.
In a letter to the Express, 86-year-old Bennett wrote: "I personally went to the Ministry of Education and asked if I could interview the Minister of Education, Esther Le Gendre, for half-an-hour, and was told I could not do that unless I wrote a letter."
Himself a former jockey, Bennett, known as the "boy wonder" for his exploits in the saddle as a youth, continued: "I got the Arima Race Club to write the Minister on March 14 seeking an audience with her."
The veteran horseman complained that the Ministry received the letter from the club, but he has since been getting a runaround from the Ministry's chief executive officer, Peter O'Neill, despite his repeated attempts to meet with Minister Le Gendre.
Bennett argued: "We have schools for the deaf, the dumb, the blind, but our little giants, the jockeys, are left out.
"We previously had a jockeys school at Union Park, Marabella, which was run by Tommy Carter and Shaffique 'Gigs' Mohammed," he reminded.
"The school turned out world-class riders like Emile Ramsammy, who was the champion jockey at Woodbine, Canada."
Bennett, a living encyclopedia on racing and renowned purchaser of bloodstock throughout the Caribbean and in the United Kingdom and USA, stated: "Recently, Jono Jones, who was born in Trinidad but raised in Barbados, won the Queen's Plate (Canada's most prestigious race, won twice previously by T&T's Ramsammy) at Woodbine. He is also one of the top riders on the Woodbine circuit...Now is the time to beat the iron, when it is hot."
The retired veterinarian, who always has a smile in the face of adversity, reminded: "Winners never quit, and quitters never win."
And in closing, he reiterated his call for Minister Le Gendre to build a jockeys school for the racing industry at Santa Rosa Park, Arima.
