Time for a re-think on starting procedures
The practice of making young horses wait behind the starting gates, in front of thousands of excited public, either by lack of time planning or to suit betting interests is proving to be detrimental to the horses and this has a definite bearing on their performance capabilities. Horses hear far better than humans and this can impact its behavior adversely which will then have a bearing on its performance. Loud noises can sound like a bunch of angry bees to the horse and instinct would tell horses to run. And if they are restrained as they are behind the starting stalls, they jog up and sweat.
``Horses are prone to spend nervous energy and work up a sweat which has a bearing on the performance of a horse,’’ says Mr. Khusro Dhunjibhoy who owns the well known Nanoli Stud Farm besides being a sport administrator having been the Chairman of Royal Western India Turf Club for five years.
The horses which were in the line up for the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby had to wait for as many as 15 minutes which is ridiculous because these are young and inexperienced horses, and they react adversely in front of a capacity crowd which is excited and yelling for a start. The horses tend to work up a sweat and expend energy. The temperamental horses and especially fillies suffer much more than the colts and there is need to stop this trend. There is a need for debate on this subject at the Turf Authorities level as well,’’ Mr. Dhunjibhoy said. One could not agree with him more.
The Bangalore Turf Club authorities have not applied thought nor have they taken the opinion of professionals who matter while sending horses well in time before loading them for the start of the race. Quite often, races are delayed endlessly to accommodate more betting, a practice which is irritating to the highly strung horses which are all keyed up to race and also to those who are entrusted with the task of riding. This also tests the patience of those anxiously waiting for the action to begin at the scheduled time. If the authorities want to give more time for betting considerations, they might plan in a way that horses don’t reach too early at the starting stalls.
There is a belief among turf club officials that punters don’t’ start betting till such time the horses are paraded and leave the paddock. Since the time gap between the time the horses leave the paddock and starting time will be less, the authorities are resorting to bringing the horses early and then make the horses wait behind the starting gates. The horses are rolled behind the gates, with the jockeys not being allowed to dismount. On occasions when they dismount, one can see the jockeys either spread themselves on the turf or engaging in gossip with fellow professionals which also can dilute their concentration levels while riding in important and tense races.
This year’s Kingfisher Derby saw horses line up behind the starting gates 15 minutes before the start of the race. The horses were hardly 20 metres in front of a capacity crowd. ``The horses which run in the Kingfisher Derby are two to three races old and their inexperience makes them react adversely to too much attention from the crowd because the noise affects them and excites them. Taking the horses so early is detrimental to the chances of horses. Fillies react more adversely than colts. I am writing to the Turf Authorities of India about the need to take corrective measures on this score,’’ said Mr. Dhunjibhoy.
I believe that horses should not wait for too long behind the gates once they reach the starting point. Planning in this way is not going to be difficult. I would rather have Rs 5 lakhs less as stake money instead of making horses suffer,’’ said Mr. Dhunjibhoy light-heartedly.
``The standard international practice should be followed,’’ added Mr. Dhunjibhoy.
The following is the open letter written to the Turf Authorities of India by the partners of Jacqueline:
As you are aware the Bangalore Summer Derby was run lastSunday where our filly Jacqueline was placed 2nd, which sportingly,of course we have blamed on Bad Luck.However, after some introspection and without taking away anythingfrom the gutsy performance of the winner we have come to the conclusionthat it was not bad luck, but the mindless 15 minutes wait at the starting gates, thatmost likely caused her to lose by 1/100th of a second. During the wait our jockey informed us that the filly who was only running forthe 4th time in her life had to suffer the ordeal of shouts and whistles from thegrandstand as the starting stalls are placed exactly opposite to them.Jacqueline was reportedly highly worked up and had to be wiped downthrice due to her being excited. We are sure also that the favourite of therace Gypsy Magic who we all know is a temperamental filly, must have been adversely affected as can be seen from her poor performance as she wasbeaten by "Captivating" who she had beaten at the Fillies Trial Stakes.This clearly goes to show that these unwarranted delays musthave had an effect on their performance.We think it is about time that Turf Authorities realise that there is aresponsibility to create a level playing field so that horses participatingin such prestigious events (or for that matter any race) should not bekept waiting just so that clubs can earn few extra rupees on bettingthat takes place.We are requesting Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla who has championed the causeof fair racing in India to intervene in this matter and ensure that this practiceis discontinued with immediate effect.
``Horses are prone to spend nervous energy and work up a sweat which has a bearing on the performance of a horse,’’ says Mr. Khusro Dhunjibhoy who owns the well known Nanoli Stud Farm besides being a sport administrator having been the Chairman of Royal Western India Turf Club for five years.
The horses which were in the line up for the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby had to wait for as many as 15 minutes which is ridiculous because these are young and inexperienced horses, and they react adversely in front of a capacity crowd which is excited and yelling for a start. The horses tend to work up a sweat and expend energy. The temperamental horses and especially fillies suffer much more than the colts and there is need to stop this trend. There is a need for debate on this subject at the Turf Authorities level as well,’’ Mr. Dhunjibhoy said. One could not agree with him more.
The Bangalore Turf Club authorities have not applied thought nor have they taken the opinion of professionals who matter while sending horses well in time before loading them for the start of the race. Quite often, races are delayed endlessly to accommodate more betting, a practice which is irritating to the highly strung horses which are all keyed up to race and also to those who are entrusted with the task of riding. This also tests the patience of those anxiously waiting for the action to begin at the scheduled time. If the authorities want to give more time for betting considerations, they might plan in a way that horses don’t reach too early at the starting stalls.
There is a belief among turf club officials that punters don’t’ start betting till such time the horses are paraded and leave the paddock. Since the time gap between the time the horses leave the paddock and starting time will be less, the authorities are resorting to bringing the horses early and then make the horses wait behind the starting gates. The horses are rolled behind the gates, with the jockeys not being allowed to dismount. On occasions when they dismount, one can see the jockeys either spread themselves on the turf or engaging in gossip with fellow professionals which also can dilute their concentration levels while riding in important and tense races.
This year’s Kingfisher Derby saw horses line up behind the starting gates 15 minutes before the start of the race. The horses were hardly 20 metres in front of a capacity crowd. ``The horses which run in the Kingfisher Derby are two to three races old and their inexperience makes them react adversely to too much attention from the crowd because the noise affects them and excites them. Taking the horses so early is detrimental to the chances of horses. Fillies react more adversely than colts. I am writing to the Turf Authorities of India about the need to take corrective measures on this score,’’ said Mr. Dhunjibhoy.
I believe that horses should not wait for too long behind the gates once they reach the starting point. Planning in this way is not going to be difficult. I would rather have Rs 5 lakhs less as stake money instead of making horses suffer,’’ said Mr. Dhunjibhoy light-heartedly.
``The standard international practice should be followed,’’ added Mr. Dhunjibhoy.
The following is the open letter written to the Turf Authorities of India by the partners of Jacqueline:
As you are aware the Bangalore Summer Derby was run lastSunday where our filly Jacqueline was placed 2nd, which sportingly,of course we have blamed on Bad Luck.However, after some introspection and without taking away anythingfrom the gutsy performance of the winner we have come to the conclusionthat it was not bad luck, but the mindless 15 minutes wait at the starting gates, thatmost likely caused her to lose by 1/100th of a second. During the wait our jockey informed us that the filly who was only running forthe 4th time in her life had to suffer the ordeal of shouts and whistles from thegrandstand as the starting stalls are placed exactly opposite to them.Jacqueline was reportedly highly worked up and had to be wiped downthrice due to her being excited. We are sure also that the favourite of therace Gypsy Magic who we all know is a temperamental filly, must have been adversely affected as can be seen from her poor performance as she wasbeaten by "Captivating" who she had beaten at the Fillies Trial Stakes.This clearly goes to show that these unwarranted delays musthave had an effect on their performance.We think it is about time that Turf Authorities realise that there is aresponsibility to create a level playing field so that horses participatingin such prestigious events (or for that matter any race) should not bekept waiting just so that clubs can earn few extra rupees on bettingthat takes place.We are requesting Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla who has championed the causeof fair racing in India to intervene in this matter and ensure that this practiceis discontinued with immediate effect.
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