The Bangalore Turf Club has become strike-prone. Strikes by syces or the racehorse owners or trainers have become par for every season. This time out, things have gone from bad to worse with races being disrupted within a week of the start of the long-winding winter season, the reason being the decision of the BTC authorities to prevent the use of the mobile phone by race horse trainers during the conduct of races. The trainers have also been asked to close their office during racing hours.
Earlier, the trainers were allowed to use the mobile phone after paying a fee of Rs.1,000. While the authorities have the right to change licensing condition from time to time, what has not gone well with the professionals is the way the new licensing condition has been pushed through without as much as a discussion with the affected parties and also the fact
that the ban of mobile phone has been restricted only to trainers and not to other sections of the fraternity. Jockeys have been banned worldwide from using mobile phones. Gone are the times when authority could be exercised without brooking any opposition. In the present disturbed times, a more conservative approach was the need of the hour.
Though it is open to adjudication whether the turf clubs have the powers to charge high amounts for the use of the mobile phones for the three-hour duration of races while the monthly rental charged by the service provider is much less, the fact is that all the turf clubs, barring the
Royal Calcutta Turf Club and Hyderabad Race Club, are making big money through sale of badges for use of the mobile phones.
RCTC and HRC are the only two clubs that have banned the use of mobiles
while races are on. It is also possible that the service provider may not be making as much profit as the turf clubs who are getting a big booty without any investment! Since the matter has not come up before courts, one is not sure whether the collection of fees for use of mobile phones in racecourses by an authority other than the one sanctioned by the Telephone Regulatory Authority
of India stands legal scrutiny. Instead of selectively preventing the use of the mobile phones, their usage itself could have been banned which could have curbed quite lot of illegal betting that has become rampant with the use of the mobile phones.
Be that as it may, the reason why strikes have become a regular occurrence is because the authorities have lost their moral caliber. Often decisions are taken without
much thought only to be reversed under pressure. This has emboldened everyone to challenge the authority on every occasion and the last two years
has seen a spurt in this activity. There has been collapse of the system with a club member even daring to assault a racing official and then taking recourse
to all unethical methods to justify his action.
The Bangalore Summer Season used to be a summer of discontent with the season preceded by a strike. The jockeys used to be the ones who then had the right to strike but of late, they are a subdued lot and have been on their best behavior. It is more often than not the combination of the owners’ association and trainers’ association that has been spearheading some agitation or the other. Quite often, compromises are arrived at and the issues for which the agitational path taken is forgotten only to be revived when the next season approaches. A joint committee of turf club, owners and trainers association was formed for the purpose of looking into labour related problems after the first week’s winter races were disrupted but one is not sure whether the first meeting of the said body has taken place or not. There seems to be no
hurry because the issue was 'solved' by merely forming the committee.
It may be of interest to note that there has not been a single reported strike from any of the major centers like RWITC or Hyderabad Race Club. Does it mean that everything is hunky dory and there are no burning issues? No. There are issues at every center but they are sorted out through dialogue and the parties have been generally more understanding of each other’s needs. But in BTC, the authorities take a stand only to dilute it later thereby undermining their own authority.
The Karnataka Trainers Association could have considered all the pros and cons before deciding to go ahead with their move to scuttle Saturday’s races. Now having resorted to the extreme step, they have put themselves and the authorities in an awkward position. A compromise by either party is sure to weaken them irrevocably.
'The Second Coming' written by the great Irish poet W B Yeats in 1920 aptly applies to
the present state of chaos at the BTC.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand..
