Recently the club has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons
and a senior state government minister's threat to close down the race
course has caused consternation in the racing fraternity. One
inescapable fact is that the BTC management has come up short on a
number of occasions in the recent past and has to share the blame for
the current position that the club finds itself in.
This website among others in the media has been attacked for being
critical on the club and supporters of the BTC argue that the management
has been doing its best to resolve all contentious issues. It gives us
no pleasure to attack an institution like the BTC and none of our
criticism is aimed at any particular individual but is done rather in
the hope that the authorities at BTC will re-focus their energies on the
main reason for which they have been elected, to run horse racing.
BTC is in a unique position to set the agenda for the sport in this
country. Over the past decade and a half the club has shown that it is
possible to ensure good returns to punters with a combination of
rational taxes and competitive racing. Add good prize money and healthy
incentives to owners and you have a great package that is the envy of
every other racing centre in the country. Mumbai for all its glamour has
still not addressed certain fundamental issues that affect their racing
while Hyderabad with its closed door policy to outside competition
cannot be the voice for a national racing policy. BTC is the only club
with the potential to take up the leadership of Indian racing. The best
horses are stationed in Bangalore and this centre has arguably the best
professionals based here. It is no surprise that Mystical, Whatmore and
Polar Falcon, horses that have earned laurels on the international stage
were taught their basics in Bangalore. Even Saddle Up earned his major
national successes in Bangalore before making a name for himself in
Singapore. With its great climate Bangalore is truly a haven for horses
and a visionary management should easily be able to take advantage of
this.
Over the past year or so the club management has become more autocratic
and confrontational in their attitude towards owners and trainers and
today all sections of racing are disgruntled. The biggest losers have
been the horses as the club, in trying to put out fires elsewhere, has
neglected the welfare of the most important component of the racing
business. The stables are in bad shape and the less said about the race
track the better. Small improvements like rubberizing the floors of the
stables in the equine hospital and putting up a roof to cover the
exposed area between the two sets of hospital buildings so that sick
horses can be treated in more comfortable surroundings have still not
been done. A chaotic situation prevails with regard to the stabling of
two-year olds. Horses are the basis for the sport and neglecting their
needs will adversely affect racing in the future. Any improvement to the
living and working conditions of the horses will have the whole hearted
support of race horse owners, trainers and all those who are in love
with this sport.
If horses are the foundation that the racing edifice is built on then
punters make up the main columns. When was the last time that anyone
from the BTC interacted with punters in the first and second enclosures
to find out the needs and requirements of this vast majority of the
racing community that continue to remain ignored when decisions that
directly concern them are taken? The conditions in the second enclosure
at BTC leave a lot to be desired and the fact that the public urinals
are located within a few feet of the area where food is prepared for
race goers speaks volumes of the lack of interest shown by the club
authorities. The conditions in some of the betting centres in the city
are not much better, lack of proper seating and inadequate facilities
for the number of people who throng these places during the races are
just two of the issues.
Major race courses around the world have understood the need for
providing their patrons with good facilities as these go a long way in
ensuring that a day at the races is an enjoyable experience which will
have the crowds coming back for more.
Racing in Bangalore has far outgrown its roots of an afternoon pastime
for British army officers and the local gentry. Today it is a multi
crore industry employing thousands of people mainly from the unorganized
sector and is now known in international racing circles through the
exploits of Mystical. A study on the impact of horse racing on the
economy has never been done in this country and the BTC would do well to
fund such a survey. A few years ago a similar study was conducted in the
USA and it emerged that the horse racing industry had a positive impact
to the tune of US$ 12 billion (Rs.54,000 crores approx.) on the American
economy. Such a study in India would help the turf clubs in presenting a
positive case for horse racing to the government and the general public.
A more consensual approach by the BTC management would see a number of
the current problems being resolved. Decisions that have far reaching
consequences must be discussed with all stake holders involved before
becoming policy. This should become the mantra by which the BTC runs
racing especially as, due to unfortunate circumstances, owners are
prevented from becoming Stewards in BTC. Owners have the greatest stake
in racing but are excluded from any decision making that affects their
investment. The government must be impressed upon to remove this
anomaly. In order to prevent a monopoly of owners on the committee their
numbers can be restricted to not more than two Stewards and two
Committee Members at any given time.
The next step would be to appoint professionals to run the day to day
affairs of racing. These officials must be given the authority to carry
out their work without fear or favour. Marketing of racing must be given
its importance and BTC should take a leaf out of RWITC’s book to ensure
that all major races are sponsored and that the sponsors gets more than
adequate mileage for their generosity.
Racing has survived and flourished in Bangalore and there is no reason
to believe that it will not survive the present troubled times. However,
for racing to remain healthy and grow it needs people who are willing to
set aside their differences and work together whole-heartedly. The
present management needs to seize the initiative and institute sound
policies that will take BTC to even greater heights. They will certainly
have the unstinted support of the entire racing fraternity in this
endeavour.
