The groomsman’s story

TRADITION IS one of the hallmarks of horse racing, anywhere in the world, and in the tough Gregory Park neighbourhood in the shadow of Caymanas Park it’s no different – youngsters often head off to the track.

For many, there’s an uphill battle to keep them from falling into a life of wrongdoing – and Fabian White, Grooms Association president, faced that same test growing up.

His aunt, with foresight, took a pre-emptive decision and it was off to the track for young White, who was put under the wing of legendary horseman Fitzgerald ‘Fitz’ Crawford.

That introduction to the sport of kings proved a godsend, and White took to the world of horses and their care immediately.

Thus began a long road that led him to work with all the Caymanas Park luminaries of the era, as well as grooming the equine greats, like the historic Mento Maid (trained by Kenny Mattis, the first filly to win the Superstakes).

Now, as the head of the Grooms Association, White finds himself the keeper of the proverbial flame, the man others look to for guidance and support and also, by his own reckoning, the one charged with the mission of sustaining the practice of racehorse grooming.

“It’s a lot that is asked of us as grooms,” he says. “We put a lot at risk, for really very little.”

That is what made it ever so special for White to have the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), on Emancipation Day, just passed, give back to the Grooms Association.

“We are grateful,” said White, pointing out that the additional support pledged by the agency will help to not only tend to the needs of the current and long-time grooms, who have been felled by either injury or sickness, but support his advocacy to bring more local youths into the industry.

Many, he says, might eschew the low-wage, high-risk job to identify and realise better prospects elsewhere, but there will be those who, facing the limited opportunities available, will be open to his pitch.

They might also find an even more illustrious career ahead, even if largely unheralded.

He concedes it’s not easy, but White vows to continue doing what he can to represent the vocation and contribute to the overall improvement of his community. After all, someone extended the torch to him, and changed his life. Why shouldn’t he keep doing the same?

It’s part of the tradition.