It was in late September, when elections were held for the post of Stewards and Committee Members at the Bangalore Turf Club. Although the field of 11 contesting for the five vacant slots included a past Chairman, two past stewards and a sitting steward, the general body rejected all but one and sent four new faces to fill the respective posts. There was a clear message from the closely knit community of club members, that they were unhappy with the present state of affairs and wanted a change. Members felt that the race supervision at their club had slackened and powerful groups were able to get away lightly. The new team, therefore, had a huge responsibility thrust on their young shoulders, and they decided to take up this issue on a war footing. They realized that the present lot of stipendiary stewards were led by a person who was retiring shortly and his number two was well past his prime and was working on a daily retainer. The committee decided to advertise for an Additional Chief Stipendiary Steward. It was decided that this person would work along with the present team and ultimately take over the reins at an appropriate time.
There was a sudden hue and cry. A steward cited a clause from the licensing conditions and stressed that the Club needed Government permission to change the present scenario. This was No 12 of the licensing conditions, which stated that "The licensee shall obtain prior approval of the Government for the appointment or removal of the Racing Consultant-Cheif Stipendiary Steward-Advisor Kunigal Stud Farm-Secretary Bangalore Races." For the clarity of our readers it is stated that this was a single pot created in the 1980s to accommodate Shri Arshad Ali Khan at the insistence of the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, and the said post has ceased to exist with the said officer departing from the Club. Moreover, the Kunigal Stud farm was taken over by Dr Vijay Mallya many years ago. Over the years, these posts were segregated and filled up from time to time. No Government clearance was ever sought. Arshad Ali Khan was succeeded by Dara Mody, Narasimahan and finally by the present incumbent Mr Raman .How this clause was suddenly discovered by the steward shall remain a mystery. Due to a protest from Ashok Raghavan, the Government Nominee member of the Managing Committee, the process was stalled. However, later the committee decided to go ahead and wrote to the Government about the irrelevance of the clause being quoted. A letter was also sent to the present Governor since the state is under President's Rule. A favourable reply is awaited from the State Authorities.
In the meantime, the candidates for the said advertised post arrived in Bangalore. There were four candidates. Three past and present trainers namely C A Kutappa, Richard Alford and S K Habib Khan were joined by Fin Powrie from Australia to make their respective presentations to the assembled members of the Committee. As expected, the said steward sent a letter of absence, and the Government Nominee Committee Member staged a walkout. All the candidates made their mandatory power point presentations. It is learnt that Fin Powrie made a huge impact on those present in the room. His credentials and qualifications are impeccable and so is his grasp of the subject. In recent times, he was chief of racing at the Dubai Race Club and had coordinated the holding of the Dubai World Cup for five successive years. He is currently based in New Zealand, where he heads a body which supervises racing all over the country. More importantly, he is technically qualified to impart training to the young stipes at the BTC. This is something which the Club is keenly looking forward to, given the extreme shortage of trained and qualified racing professionals in our country. His presence at the BTC may prompt the other racing clubs in the country to send their officials here for training.
Deeply impressed by his qualifications and presentation, the committee met on Thursday evening and decided that he was the best among the candidates interviewed by them. It was decided that the BTC would like to utilize his services in the overall interest of racing at this centre. Keeping in mind the objections of their two above-mentioned colleagues, the Committee decided to take him in an advisory capacity. Since that would be an internal matter and administrative in nature, it was felt that their esteemed colleagues shall be satisfied. It is expected that though the Government approval shall come for the appointment in due course of time, the same may not be needed in the present case. The Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 27th December to formalize the terms and conditions of this arrangement before making a formal announcement.
The Bangalore Turf Club is now in good hands. The Chairman and his present team may have upset a powerful lobby by this announcement, but they can rest assured that a majority of the BTC members and the racing fraternity at large are delighted with this development. It must be realized, that strict and effective supervision augurs well for racing in general and protects the interest of the punter, who is the mainstay of racing all over the world.
