B R Sharan Kumar

  BTC Braces for Costly Relocation Ahead   By Sharan Kumar   The proposed shift of racing activities from the historic Bangalore Turf Club premises to the Kunigal Stud Farm marks more than a change of venue. It signals a financial and structural crossroads that could determine whether organized racing in the region reinvents itself or slowly runs out of track.   According to the government decision, BTC is to move its racing operations to the Kunigal Stud Farm, with a two-year deadline to vacate the present High Grounds property. The existing city venue is to be converted into a lung space, while the club is to be granted four acres at the current location to continue limited institutional activity, along with 110 acres at Kunigal on a long lease. The lease rent is pegged at 2.5 percent of the guidance value of the land at Kunigal.   On paper, that sounds like accommodation. In arithmetic, it looks punishing.   If the guidance value of t...

  Why Newsrooms Forget Their Own A recent article by celebrated journalist Vishveshwara Bhat highlighting how journalists are often denied meaningful acknowledgment in the very papers they serve has sparked overdue introspection. The issue is not sentiment but institutional memory. Reporters and editors who document the lives of others frequently exit without a proper record of their own contribution. In an industry built on remembrance and public record, the quiet passing of its practitioners raises an uncomfortable but necessary question about newsroom values.   By Sharan Kumar   The newsroom is a strange battlefield. Names are built there, reputations forged, governments rattled, scams exposed, heroes made and unmade. Yet when one of its own falls, the silence can be louder than any headline. Inspired by a deeply reflective piece by Vishweshwar Bhat, this article examines an uncomfortable truth of modern journalism: the journalist who chronicled history often...

      Indian Racing Stagnating While the World Moves Ahead   By Sharan Kumar   While global racing leaders gathered this week at Saudi Arabia for the 41 st Asian Racing Conference to discuss collaboration, audience growth, integrity, and modern storytelling, Indian racing was notable for its absence. Not a single Indian administrator is present at the Asian Racing Conference, a forum where the future direction of the sport is actively debated and shaped.   Across major racing jurisdictions, administrators are confronting uncomfortable truths: shrinking customer bases, competition from sports betting, illegal wagering ecosystems, and the need to modernise fan engagement. They are investing in digital outreach, transparency, welfare communication, and global event building. Indian racing, by contrast, continues to function within an inward looking and dated administrative framework.   The same officials and governance structures have...

  BTC Should Not Sprint After Cancelling Season Early   By Sharan Kumar The Bangalore Turf Club seems to have followed the ancient strategy of “shoot first, read the rulebook later.” The winter season was declared officially extinct the moment glanders knocked on the door, even though the National Plan for Eradication of Glanders 2025 largely said don’t move horses around, not switch off racing like a power cut. Movement was banned, fairs were restricted, but racing itself was not outlawed. Common sense, however, appears to have been placed under precautionary quarantine.   If congregation everywhere were truly forbidden, the racecourse would have needed social distancing circles painted for horses, one per furlong.   Having cancelled the season at Formula One speed, the club then dug up the track in two critical areas to lay pipes. Nothing signals “we may resume soon” quite like performing open heart surgery on the racing surface. Pipes were laid, eart...

  Fynbos Romps to Derby Glory as Baychimo Fails to Fire   The Indian Derby, billed as a fierce two-horse showdown and a clash of titans, dissolved into a one-horse parade when it mattered. What was meant to be a thunderclap contest arrived more like a polite knock, with the suspense switching off early. Fynbos stamped total authority on the race, treating the field like routine paperwork and clearing it without delay, giving Tom Marquand his first Indian winner at Mahalakshmi. Baychimo, expected to mount the challenge, never found rhythm and remained a non-factor throughout, leaving the margin and the message equally decisive.     By Sharan Kumar   The Indian Derby, billed as a fierce two-horse showdown and a clash of titans, dissolved into a one-horse parade when it mattered. What was meant to be a thunderclap contest arrived more like a polite knock, with the suspense switching off early. Fynbos stamped total authority on the race, treating the field like rout...

  Comic Plot Twists on Indian Derby Day   By Sharan Kumar   Punters once again sat down with what they thought was a race card and discovered it was actually one of Pesi’s patented cryptic crosswords, printed without clues and solved only after the race is over. The Gr 2 Thackers Eclipse Stakes turned into another brain teaser where confidence went in bold and results came in invisible ink. Psychic Star was the people’s banker, but King Ke, attending his first graded party, walked away with the silverware. Thalassa sneaked up the rails late to grab second from the multi-classic hero Psychic Star. Several with respectable resumes, including Regina Memorabilis and Guineas placegetter Namiri, chose Derby day to conduct a disappearing act. When top yards throw curveballs instead of winners, punters start reading philosophy.   Karthik Ganapathy’s Buckingham at least behaved like a well-briefed favourite in the Rattonsey Million. He justified the buzz and held ...