Indian Racing In Need Of A Drastic Overhaul

April 5, 2005

Indian racing is in need of a sea change. Barring Bangalore and Hyderabad, attendances have fallen drastically at other centres. The former pre-eminent race clubs in the country, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and the Royal Western India Turf Club, have been worst hit. Both these race clubs are facing a financial crisis and the RWITC has been forced to drastically curtail its racing calendar.

Calcutta has been struggling to regain its position as a premier racing centre for the past few years and despite healthy tote turnovers, Bangalore and Hyderabad have their share of problems as well.

Indiarace.com intends a carry a series of articles by eminent racing personalities on what needs to be done to lift the sport from its present precarious position. We welcome contributions from people concerned about racing to air their views in a way which can create healthy debate and lead to some positive and constructive changes for the betterment of the sport in our country.

In the first article, Vivek Jain, a former Committee Member RWITC, gives his take on the scenario at Western India.

Mahalaxmi In Focus

By Vivek Jain

The Mumbai Racing Season is well into its "warm weather" phase and relaxation of the dress regulations to the hallowed Members Enclosure since early March was a step in recognition of the same! With barely a month of the season left and the "plums" more or less over, the RWITC think tank will have to strain muscle and nerve to keep the turnstiles ticking. The Committee has scheduled only 46 race days at Mumbai this season as against the usual 55 by cutting back on some mid week days and thankfully not racing into May. This is a direct fall out of the sharply declining horse population.

July racing at Pune has already been axed and the number of race days at the Monsoon centre sharply reduced as the effective racing strength at Pune could be well under 1000 horses. With a top heavy administration and high cost structure, the RWITC now incurs an unprecedented direct loss on every race day held in Western India. A few years ago the RWITC slipped well behind sister clubs in its prize money pay out to owners, a reflection of constraints on its reserves. Last July, the Club upped this by a whopping 60% piggybacking on the advance of Rs.10 crores it got for the Pegasus project. The owners have breathed easy since, but this move has started to hurt the financials. The RWITC has been forced to withdraw its contribution in sponsored group races and fewer races will be run, as the Club is staring at a heavy loss for the year 2004/05.

The cumulative earnings from tote and bookmakers betting (the main revenue source) is sharply down on last year even after accounting fixed odds betting where profit is unpredictable and in any case has averaged less than that of the tote. A concerted effort at the rationalizing taxation levels has to be made for any upswing to happen. Sponsorships, a usual area of strength for the RWITC, are a cause of concern.

The UB Group, a long time supporter of racing in Western India has withdrawn from four classics. Bombay Dyeing was conspicuous by its absence on the C N Wadia Cup Day and the much hyped "match of legends" was gimmicky at best. Though the Marketing Committee is working on proposals, an all out effort to get the crowds back is clearly the need of the hour to keep Mahalaxmi in focus. And finally, a word on the race track, the pride of Indian and indeed, as some believe, of Asian racing. There has been glaring inconsistency in watering norms, especially on the big days. When this happens once too often, eyebrows do get raised. With fewer race days the track should have been at its best and certainly run true and firm on every Sunday. The stewards cannot take this aberration lightly if the punting public has to keep its faith in the integrity of racing in Western India.

The Turf Authorities of India would do well to re-look at the all-India racing calendar for the year taking into consideration the horse strength at each centre, clash of classic days and the weather with a view, of course, to maximize returns for each Club.

 

READERS' RESPONSES

Mr Vivek Jain is a respected, honest and a well-known person at RWITC and also in the Mumbai society. What has written is absolutely correct. RWITC is now history thanks to the governing body. The racecourse of the future is BTC unless some drastic change takes place in the committee and people like Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Mr Vivek Jain, Dr. Mallya etc come into the present committee and revamp the whole system which would include cleaning up racing even if they have to knockout certain people who are destroying the game, get back public confidence in the game which at present has gone for a SIX, get back Glamorous sponsors like Mrs Maureen Wadia who has left RWITC due to disrespect and shabby treatment by RWITC, etc. Once we have good people running the club who have only the interest of the game at heart and no selfish motive in gaining something from the club only then will RWITC come up to its normal and I pray to God that this happens as I am one of the many who has suffered at RWITC and have left RWITC for BTC.

 Capt. JAMSHED APPOO

 

There is no denying that RWITC is facing the worst crisis since its inception. However it is unlikely that anyone can come to the rescue of the club. The club has failed to attract an adequate number of headcount from Mumbai's population of 1.5 crores. Hardly 4500-7000 people come to watch races on weekdays and Sundays. As a bookmaker, I have three important suggestions for the consideration of the Club which I perceive can go a long way in keeping the institution's head above troubled waters.

1) Off-course betting centers (OCBC's) should be allowed to operate only in the suburbs beyond Bandra as people staying within city limits can easily come and enjoy live racing. The attendance will surely increase and so will the revenue for the Club.

2) The Club should immediately ban the use of mobile phones on race days. The club thinks it is a money-spinner. It has, on the contrary, proved to be a money-swindler for the club. A person paying Rs. 3000 per day for the use of mobile phone in RWITC premises does not take it for social talk but for betting with outside bookmakers, at the expense of legitimate tax revenue to the government and club commission for the club. By issuing him a permission to use the mobile phone in its premises, the club is in fact allowing the user to siphon off the club and government's legitimate tax revenue.

3) Clean racing has become a thing of the past. The best horse in the race should come out and win. It is common to hear ``Woh to Race Mein Nahin Hai'' or ``Uspe Race Chap Gayi Hai.'' This is the bane of racing in Western India. Where will the follower of form go when horses without any credentials record shock wins, race after race. Naturally, he loses interest and keeps away. The authorities concerned should take strict action against culprits or the day is not far away when the sport will die an unnatural death. Tall claims have no meaning if it is not backed by strong facts. The issue is not whether the present administration is good or the past was better. What we are concerned is the future as the present has a bearing on how things shape up in the days to come.
SHAHRUKH IRANI

While the technical aspects are indeed, serious matters, some aggressive marketing may be required. Why not introduce late evening racing? Long back Dr.Cyrus Poonawala promised something in that aspect? Internet betting and non overlap of race days among all centers could also be seriously considered.
R PRUDENCE

Mr. Jain is only talking about the problems; we all know them for so many years. Please talk about remedies to the problems.
RAVINDER CHAMALA


What the club needs to do is to get the betting tax reduced at the earliest and also stop the coded bets as they have now trickled into even the cash bets of Rs500/-. Further the club should ask bookmakers to take the PAN numbers of all credit bettors. Finally at least one committee member should visit the ring on all race days including off-course race days. Also the facilities should be improved in the first enclosure. The fans don't work, there are not enough benches, the ring is dirty and so are the toilets.
YUVRAJ

The basic cause for low attendance is due to the club's own fault. It may have thought that by allowing mobile phones it was increasing revenue of the club but now slowly there is a realization that it is not so. It has been a "PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH" idea of whoever has introduced the mobile phones in the ring. Today no punter is a fool; when he can get the ring odds and the outside bookies odds sitting in his office or at his residence along with the running race commentary why would he come to the race course?!!
YAZDI M MISTRY

The RWITC has 2 choices to raise money. One is to raise number of life and stand members as there are many vacancies as per the RWITC website and be persistent with Govt. to reduce taxes.
SHASHANK INGLE

Poor standard of racing, domination of few owners, poor administration, taxes on the winnings are also some of the factors.
MIR HUSSAINI