With the long-awaited appointments to the governing board of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority having finally been gazetted, it is now time for it to get to work, according to Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson.
The board, published on April 4, 2026, is chaired by Dr. Steven Chefoon and includes Adrian Anamayah, Dr. Nardeo Bassoodeo, Amernauth Kiritpaul, Zahir Khan, Poonai Bhigroog and Councillor Mohamed Naeem Kamal of the Port Mourant Turf Club, who is listed for racetrack support and administration.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., speaking on the sidelines of an event yesterday said:
“The body is already formed, so Cabinet has already given its approval,” Ramson said. “We’ve had a lengthy discussion about its membership, the composition of the membership of the authority. So the authority has already been approved by Cabinet.”
The formation of the Authority has been long awaited within the horse racing fraternity, particularly as the sport has continued to grow while also facing concerns over safety, race-day management, track conditions and wider regulation.
Those concerns were sharpened last August following the death of promising 19-year-old jockey Kishawn Pereira, who died after a tragic fall during the penultimate race at the 17th annual Guyana Cup around 6:30 pm. Pereira’s horse, Blinding Lights, reportedly tripped on what was described at the time as a poorly conditioned track.
The Authority and the regulations under the Horse Racing Authority Act are expected to address issues of that nature by creating a formal system for licensing, monitoring and enforcement across the sport.
Ramson said the Ministry had completed its part in advancing the Authority and bringing the law into force, but he stressed that the next stage is the most important.
“We’ve done our bit in advancing, getting the authority consolidated and brought into force, now, what happens next is really important,” he said.
According to the Minister, the Authority will now be required to carry out the work set out in the legislation, including the licensing of racetracks, jockeys and other regulatory functions needed to properly govern horse racing.
“It’s one thing to say you have the body but now the body has to work,” Ramson said. “Part of what the legislation requires is about the licensing of the racetracks, the jockeys, all the regulatory type of functions that is expected, that they are required to do, in order to make the sport regulated.”
Ramson said the Government pushed to have the Authority and the legislation in place because horse racing had been operating for years in an unregulated environment.
He said that lack of regulation meant races and meets could not be properly sanctioned or recognised, while international competitors and other countries had no firm assurance that events in Guyana were being run under fair and globally accepted standards.
“It was an unregulated environment which meant that there was no way that we could have any sanctioned and official races and meets that would be recognized,” Ramson said.
He added that international participants must be able to trust that they are competing under clear rules and standards that are recognised beyond Guyana.
The Minister said the members placed on the board were carefully selected, particularly because of the type of functions the Authority will have to perform and the areas of expertise required.
Horse racing has seen major growth in Guyana over the past three years, with both government support and private investment helping to transform the sport. Ramson said that combination has created an environment of growth, but also one that now needs proper structure and enforcement.
“The Horse Racing Authority Act and the Authority themselves, now that they’ve been brought into place and they’ve been approved and appointed, now it’s time that they have to start doing the work that the Act requires them to do,” Ramson said.
With the board now in place, attention will turn to how quickly the Authority moves to regulate tracks, license participants and put systems in place to improve safety, fairness and confidence in one of Guyana’s fastest-growing sporting industries.
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