Govt. to consider consortium to run racing

By Sharan Kumar

Karnataka Chef Minister B S Yeddyurappa has said that the government would lease land to Bangalore Turf Club for building a race course and also extend some benefits but would under no circumstance extend the deadline beyond December 31. All activities should cease at the present location on December 31, he has said.

The government is open to providing the same facilities to a private consortium should the BTC fail to act, he has added. He has instructed the heads of various departments in the government to hasten the process of finalizing the land for the said purpose and carry out the work involved. The government will only lease the land for an extended period of time but it will not be sold outright. Further it has been clarified that no piece of land at the existing race course will be given to the turf club for conducting off course betting facilities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

I never thought that I would become a full-time racing writer when I set out as a journalist in the year 1980. My passion for cricket was what drove me to become a sports journalist. If there are many converts like me in the field of horse racing, you can blame it on the enduring charm of the Derby. Most people come to the Derby because they hear so much about it. Many of them stay back and I was one of them.   The first time I attended any race day was the running of the 1984 Derby. Eddy Cracknell trained Lively Empery was one of the highest priced runners in the fray. The horse reportedly was for sale much before the Derby. Luckily for the trainer it remained unsold and the horse went on to win the Summer Derby as well as the Winter Derby in the hands of Alan Mercer. It won the Derby at odds of 100 to 1.   Legend has it that the current leading trainer Padmanabhan told one of his owners to buy the horse and that he would win the Derby with this horse. The owner was not too en
Read more

Rajan Bala, one of a rare kind

Image
One of the finest cricketer writers that India has seen, Rajan Bala, passed away in Bangalore on Friday (October 9) after brief illness. He was truly an inspirational journalist for a generation of sports writers in the country in a career spanning about four decades. I began my career as a sports journalist in Deccan Herald of which he was the Sports Editor. I worked under him later in Indian Express as well though at that time he was stationed in Chennai. He then moved to Mumbai and also had a stint with an eveninger. He returned to Bangalore in the last decade with the intention of retiring from active journalism and keep himself occupied by writing columns for newspapers. But he soon landed another job, this time as the Resident Editor of Bangalore edition of Asian Age and he made me write a column on horse racing. He later became a columnist for Bangalore Mirror and joined a TV company as a consultant editor and yet again, he made me participate in a panel discussion on horse rac
Read more

Villoo Poonawalla’s death leaves a void in racing

Villoo Poonawalla’s death last Tuesday has caused a big void in racing world. Being the wife of one of leading faces in Indian racing, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, she was easily the most recognizable person in horse racing at Pune and Mumbai. She was a great racing enthusiast and was instrumental in Dr Cyrus Poonawalla keeping a substantial number of horses to race in his colors. She also goaded Dr Poonawalla to buy quite a few got abroad horses for purpose of racing them in their colors. In fact, Phenomenale who won the Pune Derby two years ago, raced in her colors. India's best known nursery of thoroughbreds, the Poonawalla Stud Farm, is owned by the Poonawalla family. Having been an amateur rider herself in her younger days, Villoo had passion for racing and made it a point to be present at the racecourse to cheerfully lead in the winners owned by the family. She led in Change of Luck who won the Casino Royalel Indian St Leger in March earlier this year, with great delight. She express
Read more