Normally, once the elections are over, the bitterness is forgotten and
the committee is allowed to concentrate on running the affairs of the
club. Unfortunately, things have gone sour, with allegations and counter
allegations on every decision taken by the committee being the norm. The
RWITC committee had the unpleasant task of having to suspend two of the
trainers who were associated with the past chairman for breach of
medication rules. The RWITC Committee also took the decision to annul
the contract with Pegasus which had promised revenues in exchange for
exploiting the huge vacant spaces under the possession of the club for
non-compliance as also because the whole issue got embroiled in
controversies and court battle.
Trainer Vinayak was in the eye of the storm as the jamedar of his horse
Glory which won the opening race on March 23, was caught tampering with
the urine sample, under the glare of the surveillance camera. Since the
parties concerned could not offer any worthwhile reason for their action
and owned up the breach committed by the jamedar, the trainer was
suspended for one year for being vicariously responsible. The suspension
raised a big controversy, with several supporters of trainer Vinayak
questioning the length of the punishment. Once the trainer preferred an
appeal, it started an unsavory controversy which has put the sport into
a quagmire.
A member of the Club's Appeal Board, Mohit Lalvani, carried out a
"sting" operation by secretly recording private conversations he had
with the Chairman of the Club, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla (at his house) and a
horse owner Capt. Jamshed Appoo.
The genesis of the recent acceleration of the politicization and further
sharp divide in the affairs of the RWITC was the direct result of the
punishment given to Vinayak. It is believed that Lalvani has attempted,
by this operation, to bring in extraneous factors to cloud the enquiry.
It appears that the transcript, which was a copy of the secretly taped
conversation with Dr. Poonawalla, was tabled before the Managing
Committee of the RWITC on April 30 by K. N. Dhunjibhoy. It appears that
Lalvani attempted to establish Dr. Poonawalla's influence on the Appeal
Board's hearing, thereby vitiating its decision-making process. A large
number of members have however, felt that a transcript of recordings
made by an interested individual (which may be either doctored or have
significant omissions) has no value and deserves to be rubbished.
Interestingly, Lalvani visited Dr. Poonawalla, ostensibly on the pretext
of seeking advice on how he should act on trainer Vinayak's enquiry
breaking acceptable code of behaviour of an Appeal Board member.
It is perhaps for the first time in the history of this prestigious Club
which is now characterized by internecine quarrels, groupism and in
fighting, that an elected member of the Club (virtually equivalent to a
Supreme Court judge in the racing hierarchy) himself conspired to
embarrass the Club's Chairman in an undercover operation with the motive
of negating the punishment given to a trainer of a group he is known to
support and owes allegiance to.
Surely this is a disturbing trend that needs to be addressed to with all
the seriousness. The health of the sport is already under great stress
in Western India as the sport has been losing its credibility. The
powerful people who can have a say in the running of racing, seem to be
losing their focus.
Related Stories :
"I was told in no
uncertain terms that I'd best not go to Vinayak's appeal."
"Truth will prevail,"
says Captain Appoo
