All this ended in 1978 when for some curious reason Indian breeders
accepted a compromise with the Union Ministry of Agriculture whereby the
latter agreed not to impose a total ban on import of horses (which they
had been threatening due to the prevalence of Contagious Equine Metritis
- CEM - in some countries abroad) if breeders gave up the right to
import racehorses! Of course, owners were not consulted in connection
with this peculiar trade-off, which had no logic whatsoever….
Thus the present health protocol issued by the Ministry of Agriculture
contains a condition: 1(a) In case of Thoroughbred horses, import will
be allowed for breeding purposes only. How this can be a "health"
condition baffles this writer - presumably one can import Arabs or
Appaloosas for racing? Do these breeds have some different
susceptibility to equine disease?
Because of this absurd policy, which has neither a scientific rationale
nor a financial one (there is no shortage of foreign exchange, as
evidenced by the import of Rs. 5 crore Maybach cars and foreign exchange
reserves in excess of $ 165 billion), Indian racing is suffering. As it
is, there are precious few horses rated above 80 - only 55 in Western
India as on date out of 662 rated horses - and many of these are past
their best. Who would suggest that 7-y-o Rapier (rated 131) and 8-y-o
Campanero (rated 128), without a single Grade 1 win between them, are
Western India's two best horses?
So even if a planeload of 33 imported racehorses arrived - with each
runner required to be rated at 80 or higher under the terms of the
licence issued to the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. by the Maharashtra Government - it
would not affect anyone's breeding operations, while at the same time it
would perk up public interest in horse racing. It is from the take-out
on the public's money wagered on horse races that race clubs are able to
offer prize money for these events, which in turn enables breeders to
sell horses, so ultimately any move which kindles public interest
benefits all.
Although restrictions of any kind are anathema, the licence to race
mentioned above does not permit the racing of imported geldings. Thus
only colts and fillies might be acquired, which would ultimately be
retired to stud here anyway, benefiting the Indian breed with "sound"
stock that had adapted to the tropical environment. Let's not forget
that the great Rock Of Gibraltar arrived in India as a maiden, after a
lacklustre 2-y-o campaign in England. His sterling efforts on the
racetracks in this country, often under astounding burdens, earned him a
place at stud - and the rest, as they say, is history.
Make no mistake, it is the presence of top horses that packs the
enclosures and energizes the Tote! This year, North America has been
blessed with some rare talent - amongst the three-year-olds are Barbaro
(since injured and retired), Bernardini, Bluegrass Cat, Bright One and
Jazil, the older brigade includes Invasor and Lava Man (both unbeaten in
the U.S.A. in 2006). Every time one or more of these runners is slated
to face the starter, the attendance goes up.
So it is time the Indian Racehorse Owners Federation and the various
Trainers Associations lobbied for the removal of the foolish barriers
that are reducing Indian racing to a boring mediocracy.
