Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) will be allowed to recover operational costs racked up by the promotions company during the COVID19-related shutdown, from race purses under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with industry regulators.

The announcement was made during a press conference to launch the 46th running of the 1000 and 2000 Guineas on Monday.

SVREL General Manager Lorna Gooden said the agreement allows SVREL to recover $13 million incurred in May.

“The MOU stated that if racing resumed on June 1, SVREL would recover the sum of $13 million which represented expenses incurred during May and would be collected through equal instalments to the end of the year,” Gooden said.

“If racing resumed on July 1, the amount would be $26 million representing the expenses incurred in May & June and collected through equal instalments to December 31.”

She explained that since racing resumed on June 20th, SVREL prorated the amounts for the actual race days and applied costs of $611,111.11 for each of the two race days in June.

“We also advised the stakeholders that a monthly recoverable of a little over $3.4 million will be applied for the remainder of the year,” she said.

The MOU, including the financial arrangements, was posted on the Caymanas Track website for public viewing.

SVREL had made several operational changes to ensure that racing could resume safely and without incident, under the guidance of a consultant engaged by the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission and the Jamaica Racing Commission.

The consultant assisted in the development of protocols that cover the entire operations of the track including entrances, the saddling barn and ring, the jockey room, stable areas and stands. Gooden said the implementation of a ticketing system is also part of crowd-control efforts to ensure that the track’s 1200 capacity is not exceeded on race days.