The Poonawalla Bangalore Derby Gr-I, which was slated to be held on Republic Day, has been cancelled. It has been announced that the races that were to be held on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th of January have been called off because of paucity of entries, as also because of the withdrawal of horses entered at the first entry stage by the respective trainers. The Club had kept the entries open till Wednesday morning and given another chance to the owners and trainers to enter their wards, but realizing that it was a futile exercise, decided to cancel the weekend's sponsored programme.
What is it that has provoked the trainers to resort to this grave action? We tried to check with them, but realised that they were not communicative. The Karnataka Trainers Association, in all its wisdom, has decided against informing the press about the issues that are behind this agitation. On making independent enquiries, it has been learnt that they have taken the decision because of the following issues.
There has been a long-standing request from the KTA that the trainers found guilty and suspended on certain medication grounds, should be permitted to enter the stables after the morning trackwork is finished. The BTC rules of racing do not permit this. A suspended trainer is not permitted to enter the Club's premises.
Another demand relates to the fines and suspensions being doled out to erring professionals in recent months. It seems that they have not taken kindly to the strict supervision that the BTC is trying to put in place in the current season. They feel that the punishments are excessive and severe.
The third issue seems to be the tight stabling situation, which shall get aggravated with the arrival of the newly acquired 2-year olds. With the loss of over a hundred stables to road widening, the BTC is currently facing a fairly serious problem that needs to be sorted out before the start of the summer season. But then, this is an exercise that shall take time.
It is understandable that the professionals need to bring these matters to the attention of the Managing Committee of the Club. They can request the authorities, from time to time, to deliberate over these and any other issues that bother them. But there is a time and place for everything. It is difficult to understand what the KTA has achieved by abandoning the Derby Weekend's racing.
The trainers have brought down the prestige of the BTC in the eyes of the thousands of racing patrons all over the country. They have sabotaged the most prestigious sponsored event in the season. Racing fans from far and near had planned to be here for this long weekend. Some had already arrived.
It is sad that they have done this to an institution that provides them their livelihood. They have deprived the owners of an opportunity to earn huge stake money that was on offer during the said period. They have basically tried to challenge the rules which they had agreed to follow while applying and accepting the licenses granted to them by the Club.
