A Rich History.
An opportunity presented itself by way of one of our partners who received the contract to develop the property of Caymanas Park, we helped with executing the presentation and concept development. Caymans Park needed a refresh from the ground up, with the aim of bringing it forward into a new period of change. In order to leverage its position, we had to define the value and extend the experience beyond horse racing, as a venue.
The first question was, how do we rebrand a well-established brand with a rich history embedded in a country that is heavily traditional, and in many ways, resistant to change?
Well, you go back in time...1959, Caymanas Park is Jamaica's only race track. It was historically a sugarcane estate (It was originally owned by the Ellis family, including George Ellis and Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford, who made substantial profits from sugar and slavery). It is mentioned in the Pioneers' 1969 song "Long Shot (Kick The Bucket)", which contains the line "What a weeping and a wailing down at Caymanas Park".
"A former sugar estate, owned by Alexander Hamilton, the racetrack was designed by Bartholomew Vicens-Oliver and was officially opened in August 1959. The ownership changed hands over the years, until 1975, when the Government took control of its operations. Three (3) years prior to the Government take-over, a new legal structure was put in place to regulate and control horse racing and the management of Caymanas Park, hence, the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) was established. The Jockey Club, formed in 1905, which was previously entrusted with regulating the sport, was incorporated into the JRC.
Horse racing had to be subsidised by the Government of the day during this time, as the industry was not as profitable as expected; consequently, in 1989, the governing People’s National Party named Daniel “Danny” Melville as its Chairman. Under Melville’s Chairmanship and with the help of Chris Armond( a horseracing aficionado, who relocated to Jamaica from Florida) significant improvements such as the installation of a multi-million dollar Totalizator System and the implementation of the Claiming System of races were made.
The Claiming System allowed for different types of races to be added to racecards, additionally, more exotic bets were made available to punters such as the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Hi 5, Pick 6 and Pick 9. This also enabled the expansion of computerised Off Track Betting Parlours. The Horse Racing Industry began to flourish."
The approach was to dive into the business and product offering which informed the brand positioning and ultimately lead to defining the identity of Caymanas Park. The internal change was inevitable, this needed a new symbol to signal this change. The logo was a dated script logotype, there was very little mobility. While many attempts were made by others to refresh the band, there was no unity, and a variety of logos existed.
We stripped away all the "fat" and identified key elements about the brand, the primary footprint was horse racing and betting. We retained the original palette but did a complete overhaul of the visual identity and language while giving a nod to its history, why people went to Caymanas Park. People loved horse racing and betting, but more so, it was a pastime, it was cultural and it presented a lot more than a race track.
A place with a rich history, tradition, and great horse races. A place with fair game and bets, a public space for enjoyment, and recreational activities.
This project was unfortunately not executed due to cancellation.