The 45 day season had 360 races on offer, with the number of races, by a
rare co-incidence, being identical to the previous year. The totalisator
showed a handsome uptick by 20% to Rs.36.62 crores, spurred on by a
sharp increase in fixed odds betting, which is now almost 30% of the
gross tote betting. Unfortunately, the bookmakers did not oblige, and
exactly the converse was true, with collections declining 20% to just
under Rs.10 crore.
The Club renewed its march as a leader of sponsored events, and the
total value of sponsorships at Rs.1.37 crores for the season, was a
whopping 37% increase on last year. The Derby weekend was a singular
success and the RWITC had the rare distinction of having an
all-sponsored nine race card by individual sponsors for the first time
by any Club ever on Derby Saturday with the rare offering of two premium
cars over the weekend. There was a rare dose of celebrity dazzle with
leading Bollywood stars as guests.
Efforts are on to make the Pune Season this year bigger than ever before
in terms of both visibility and sponsorship.
The marketing drive however was not matched by attendance figures. The
average attendance per day fell a moderate 5% to 6,200. The decline was
more marked on weekdays and it will require tremendous effort to keep
the numbers ticking.
The gross prize money payout at Rs.11 crore was almost identical to
last year's but the Club's successful sponsorship drive enabled its own
funding to come down from Rs.7.78 crores to Rs.7.18 crores, thereby
propping up its bottom-line.
On the racing front, the equine superstar Mystical held center stage
with four wins (three Group wins) and it was only the all-important
Indian Derby loss that eluded what would have otherwise been a fairy
tale season for his owner Dr. M. A. M. Ramaswamy. The baron however also
possesses the leading juvenile, Haunting Memories, who also breezed in
four wins, the last three being graded races, including the Poonawalla
Breeders' Multi Million. Along with Southern Empire, M. A. M. holds the
aces for the summer classics at Bangalore.
The Stewards' tightened supervision and escalated punishments generally
brought cheer and confidence to the racing public who have been
disillusioned by the mere raps on the knuckles awarded to offenders last
year. The 'Glory' incident triggered a series of events that have shown
the game and the Club's affairs in very poor light, virtually halting
all efforts to give a new boost to the sport. The drama has clearly not
ended and the divulgence of secretly recorded tapes by an Appeal Board
Member has brought the affairs of this Club into disrepute. One can only
hope the off-season brings a halt, even if temporarily, to cool raised
tempers and heal bruised egos so the real task of managing the Club, its
finances and the sport holds center stage, as it should.
