Trainer’s Championship still close – Nunes
Published:Friday | December 11, 2020 | 12:10 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
With a lead of just over $2.4 million and six race days left in the year, trainer Anthony Nunes says the Trainer’s Championship is still a wide-open affair.
Nunes, who is aiming for his second straight title, has amassed stakes earnings of $47,560,830, ahead of his rival and many-time champion Wayne DaCosta, who has stakes earnings of $45,161,450.
Trainer Gary Subratie is third in the standings with $33,794,660, followed by Ian Parsard ($18,498,575) and Patrick Lynch ($14,607,970).
Nunes said that there is still much money to be earned from the remaining races and therefore, the championship is not over as yet.
“It feels good to be in front, but the truth of the matter is that we have some big-money races coming up, which they are calling the ‘Championship Weekend,’ which is December 26 and 27, the last two days,” Nunes said.
“We don’t know the purse structure yet because it hasn’t been announced, but I would imagine the purses would be a good size for the A class, sprinting, and staying. Then you also have the finale of the two-year-old series, so there is good money left, and $2.4 million is nothing.”
Nunes said that the closeness of this year’s championship has excited everyone and this augurs well for the future of racing in Jamaica.
“The championship is close and it has been like this for the last three or four years, and I anticipate that it will be like this for the next 10 years,” Nunes said. “I think with Gary Subratie’s barn getting larger every year, and Ian Parsard’s and Patrick Lynch’s as well, it is going to be very good for racing that you will have three, four, or five trainers vying for the championships.”