The Bangalore Turf Club
which lost about 100 stables a few years ago due to the building of a
flyover, is set to lose vast areas of the car park including the sub-way
and another 100 stables shortly as the road is being further widened.
There is a real threat of the club losing land right up to the race
track itself which would result in closure of the outer sand track and
could prove the death knell of racing in Bangalore. Efforts are on by
the BTC to minimise the damage but the stables are surely going to be
demolished shortly after the Bangalore Summer Season. The bulldozers
have already reached the BTC premises to take up the job of expansion
and the car park and sub-way are going to be the first casualties.
The BTC administrators have not shown any foresight, planned for the
future and in addition, have a poor mindset. Racing is last on their
list of priorities. When they should have been thinking ahead and made
attempts to buy land elsewhere when costs were low, they were busy in
spending money in extravagances and they have now placed themselves in a
situation where they cannot hope to get any land nearby and are
condemned to survive in the slum like existence of the present
environment. The stables where expensive horses are put up are in poor
shape and the way they are losing ground all round, racing may cease in
Bangalore and Mysore may well become the only turf club in Karnataka to
be conducting racing. The Mysore Race Club committee is showing far
superior statesmanship and is charting an independent course and has
chalked out plans for its future. They have a vision and given the
manner in which the committee is functioning cohesively under the
chairmanship of young Chanduranga Kanthraj Urs, Mysore Race Club would
soon be the hub of racing activity.
The Mysore Race Club was to lose the land where its stables are located
which is about one kilometer from the track but the club quickly acted
and bought 16 acres of land close by and are to build about 700 stables
in addition to about 250 stables within its premises. They also
bargained a discount from the government in terms of their turnover tax
which is three per cent as against the four percent on Bangalore Turf
Club. The Mysore Race Club land is not going to be an issue for real
estate at least not in this century like the premises of Bangalore Turf
Club.
In a chat with www.indiarace.com, Kanthraj Urs outlined his plans for
the future of Mysore Race Club. ``The first and foremost priority of our
club is to become an independent turf authority in the years to come and
we are building a team of officials who can handle the affairs of racing
without dependence on BTC. The existing facilities are being upgraded.
The Grand Stand is under renovation and strengthening. The interiors will also be re-done and facilities for public will be further
improved with the addition of several facilities.’’ The Mysore Race Club
boasts of top class catering compared to its counterpart at Bangalore
where punters are left high and dry with catering being an area of
concern.
``We have acquired land for building new stables and we are consulting
the same people who are building new stables at Hyderabad Race Club.
Very soon, work will get underway and I have no doubt in my mind that
Mysore will be the prima donna of Karnataka racing as Bangalore is beset
with problems, some of which cannot be solved due to inherent
disadvantages. The equine swimming pool will soon become a reality.
Racing public will have better facilities once the renovation work which
is in progress, is completed in the next two to three months. The
seating and other facilities for racing patrons will also be
substantially improved. The race owners will also be looked after in a
much better way.’’
``As far as racing is concerned, we will ensure that strict stands of
supervision are maintained. We will act without fear or favor and we
will maintain standards for others to follow. We are increasing the
stake money of the regular season to be held between August and October
and it will be on par with what BTC offered for its last winter races.
This of course is subject to Karnataka Racehorse Owners Association not
putting hurdles by demanding drastic rise for the
mini-seasons held in Summer and Winter months. ‘’
Surely the future of racing in Karnataka is in the hands of Mysore Race
Club and they have a right man in Kanthraj Urs to lead the way.
