In a sport that has long been dominated by male participants, a small but growing cohort of women is reshaping the landscape of professional horse racing, carving out lasting legacies and challenging long-held industry norms. One of these trailblazing women is Shauna-Kay Hinds, founder and owner of the Jamaica-based O&S Racers syndicate, who notched another milestone in her rising career on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Jamaica’s iconic Caymanas Park.
On that sunny Saturday, Hinds’ 4-year-old and up runner Bob The Builder crossed the finish line first in the day’s second event: a Restricted Allowance III contest open to native-bred horses (non-winners of four races) and imported horses (non-winners of three races) contested over 7 ½ furlongs, or 1,500 meters. Guided by two-time defending champion jockey Raddesh Roman, Bob The Builder outpaced second-place finisher Star Quest, ridden by Robert Halledeen, and third-place runner Thousand Treasures, piloted by Dane Dawkins, winning by three-quarters of a length with a final time of 1:33.4, split into 24.1 seconds for the first quarter, 47.1 for the half, and 1:12.2 for six furlongs.
For Hinds, the victory was far more than a routine trip to the winner’s enclosure. It served as hard-won validation of her growing operation and a critical step forward toward her long-term goal of claiming an owner’s championship title. Speaking immediately after the race with Jamaica Observer’s *The Supreme Racing Guide*, Hinds shared her unbridled excitement. “I am very elated,” she said. “I think there’s some justification in this win in that we had a race earlier and I was really looking forward to him beating certain horses in that race and he met up back with them this time and he did put down a show and I am happy for that.”
Hinds’ entrance into the world of professional horse racing ownership was no random accident. For more than 20 years, she has been immersed in the sport through her husband Oneil, himself a long-time racing owner. “Well, my husband has been in horse racing for over 25 years and, you know, he loves it and naturally I became a part of it as well,” she explained. “It was probably a few years ago that I decided that I wanted my own owner syndicate and so that’s how I got involved.”
What began as casual participation alongside her husband quickly bloomed into a deep, abiding passion. “I love the horses, it’s a joy to visit them at the stables, and being a part of the preparation and everything. I really loved it, this is just icing on the cake,” Hinds said.
Like every thoroughbred owner, Hinds has experienced the full emotional spectrum of the sport: the soaring highs of upset victories and the devastating lows of unexpected loss. She speaks with pride of Bob The Builder’s steady rise through the ranks, but the horse that still stands out as her most beloved is Incredible Jo, a standout runner that passed away before he could fulfill the team’s high hopes for his career. “It has been so much from him [Bob The Builder] coming up but since me owning the horses, I think Incredible Jo was one of the biggest horses and so sad that he passed,” she said. “We had high hopes for him but unfortunately it is all a part of the game but I think he was one of the best horses we had.”
These contrasting highs and lows have done nothing to dim Hinds’ ambition. Currently, her O&S Racers syndicate holds third place in the 2026 Jamaican owners’ championship rankings, with eight total wins across five horses and $5,300,300 in total stakes earnings. The current leader, Carlton Watson, holds 10 wins across nine horses with $11,963,457 in stakes, followed by second-place Oakridge Farms, which has seven wins across five horses and $6,472,450 in stakes earnings.
“I want to be a champion owner, definitely,” Hinds affirmed. “Right now I am third in the owners’ championship, you know, we don’t have the materials to say alright we are the champion owner this year but eventually we will get there one day.”
For Hinds, the path to the top is one that requires patience and intentional strategy. In an industry where a single exceptional horse can redefine an owner’s career, she understands that waiting for the right opportunity is a core part of the process. “We are taking it one day at a time. Sometimes it is not just getting a horse, but it is getting that special one and so we are looking for that special one,” she noted.