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The decision by the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) to exclude top sprinter Sherone Simpson and former national 100 metres hurdles champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton from the final squad for the August 25-September 2 IAAF World Championships, should not be a big surprise to those who have been following the issue closely.
In fact, there would have been very little debate on the exclusion of Foster-Hylton. She has been off the track since early May and while members of her camp have said she is in training, she has not been able to grace the track in any of the recent grand prix meets and the JAAA had no choice but to choose another athlete.
Agent Paul Doyle did make a very valid point when he pointed out that Lacena Golding-Clarke, the athlete seen to have taken Foster-Hylton's place in the team, had not been in competitive action since the National Championships in late June, but the JAAA, I assume, must have made some investigations before naming her to the team.
Different case
Simpson's case is quite different. Despite finishing at the back of the field I did not think that last year's fastest woman in the world over both 100m and 200m, ran all that badly at the DN Galan Grand Prix meet in Stockholm, Sweden on August 7.
Her time, 11.61 seconds, was 21 hundredths of a second behind the seventh place finisher, but she held her form well at the finish and could, as her camp has said, be suffering from a lack of confidence because of the injury and improve towards the end of the month.
Based on her current form I would not have named Simpson to run an individual event ahead of any of the athletes - Veronica Campbell, Kerron Stewart or Sheri-Ann Brooks - who qualified for the 100m and 200m at the National Championships.
Her last race was fully three weeks before the start of the women's 4x100m heats in Osaka and based on what I saw of her then she could have been considered for a relay spot. If her problem is basically one of confidence just now then three weeks would be more that ample time in which to get her ready for a relay leg.
Bravo stewards
The stewards at Caymanas Park should be heartily congratulated for the firm action they took last Saturday after members of the Jockey's Guild tried to delay the second of 10 races on the card.
Millions of dollars have been spent at Caymanas Park since 1998 to make the running surface one of the best in the Caribbean. The drainage is now first class and rain like that which fell last Saturday was not enough to force an abandonment of the race card. In fact, the first race for two-year-olds produced a fairly fast time, 1:00.00 for the 1000m round distance.
The stewards were therefore very correct in ordering the jockeys back to the gates after they had left the track complaining of a water-logged surface and low visibility.
Racing in Jamaica is a billion-dollar industry which employs thousands on a race day from the jockeys themselves to grooms, trainers, cashiers at both the track and off track betting parlours, bet writers in hundreds of shops across the island and people who cater to those who are directly involved in the industry.
A race day cannot therefore be abandoned for any flimsy reasons. Punters, according to a report in yesterday's Star, wagered more than $27 million on the 10-race card and would most likely had wagered more if there was no uncertainty.
To have abandoned the card would mean a loss of income for not only the promoters but also the bookmakers and ultimately the Government, which collects millions in taxes from the industry.