Horse owner hits illegal ‘bookies’

MANILA, Philippines - A leading horse owner has expressed disappointment over the proliferation of illegal ‘bookies’ and wished all the players in the industry would do their share to save the horse racing industry.

Businessman-lawyer Narciso Morales said that unless these bookies are eradicated, “the industry that employs thousands and remits a sizeable amount of taxes to the  government will continue to suffer”.

“I’m calling the attention of the players in the industry, from the Philracom (Philippine Racing Commission) to the owners, jockeys, trainers, clubs and horse racing organizations to do their part in fighting this menace that’s been killing the sport which we all love,” said Morales, owner of about 30 horses actively running in all three racing clubs in the country.

Morales, who is into bus transportation business, said he, too,  has experienced becoming a victim of what racing fans called “perderan”.

“It has become rampant. I hope those tasked to go after these illegal bookies will make their move before it’s too late,” said Morales, who owns horses with catchy names like Mama Pls Don’t Cry, Billy The Kid, My Wife Knows All and Papa Pls Don’t Flirt, among others.

Meanwhile, Morales, jockey Jesse Guce, trainer C.M. Vicente and horse Karapatan emerged tops in their respective categories after the first six months of the racing season.

In a Dividendazo report, Morales took the No. 1 spot in the number of wins among owners from the January-July period by getting 54 first, 46 second and 43 third place finishes as he overtook Patrick Uy (53-23-31) and Jade Bros Farms (50-38-30).