Summer season set to start amidst gloom
The Bangalore Summer Season is set to start on Saturday, May 15 amidst uncertainty about the future of racing at this centre following Karnataka High Court‘s directive to the Bangalore Turf Club to vacate the premises by September 22. As usual the owners and trainers associations are raising the banner of revolt and have raised several demands which they want the club to accept without delay. If these issues are unresolved, it may result in an agitation adding to the overall gloom.
The BTC went for an ill-advised battle against the government in the court rooms in the premise the concession of 1915 was a permanent grant. What was more galling was the fact that the club drifted badly from the beginning in its arguments by agreeing to shift if suitable land was given forgetting the very ground on which they took the government to court. The argument that BTC owned the land by way of permanent grant was thus diluted and the dismissal of BTC petition thus did not come as a surprise. By all accounts, BTC was operating on leased land which had been confirmed by the several agreements that the club had signed with the government. Even the articles of the association also mentioned the fact that BTC was operating from leased premises.
BTC is now attempting rapprochement with the government though it appears a tough task at the moment. The Special Leave Petition may or may not serve the purpose because of the opinion expressed by legal luminaries that the outcome is more unpredictable than picking a winner in horse racing. Right now BTC is trying to gain the sympathy of the Chief Minister. The club has already replaced the then chairman with a new one. The BTC committee met the Chief Minister a few days back after many unsuccessful attempts and though he did not hold\ out any promise in his brief meeting, he is said to have assured the club delegates that he would meet them leisurely at a later date. Unfortunately with the Chairman not available in Bangalore for a month, the meeting with Chief Minister may take more time and as such, the cloud of uncertainty will continue to hang over the club.
The good news is that BTC has decided to permit outstation horses to participate in the summer season as usual. The charm of the summer season is the participation of outstation horses. Also the classics get the boost because of the participation of the best horses of the preceding season from all over the country and also the entry money contributed by the owners of these horses. Barring an odd Steward, the BTC Managing Committee was said to have been unanimous in its decision to permit outstation horses. There was resistance for this move by the local owners’ body. Pesi Shroff, Cooji Katrak and Dallas Todywalla are the trainers from Mumbai who will surely bring their wards for the summer season along with the usual contingent from Hyderabad.
The stake money announced for the season will match that offered for the summer season of 2008. There has been cut in the incentives to the tune of Rs 1,5 crores as against the originally projected figure of Rs 3 crores. In the original proposal, the club had proposed to totally do away with all incentives but the same has been restored for small owners.. The KROA and KTA wanted the club to return the contingency fund that is kept with the club. The fund was created to meet any contingency arising out of the Provident Fund claim by the syces working with the trainers. The club has not yet complied with this demand..
Originally, the club refused to take the burden of collecting the BTF from owners and the three month credit offered to trainers was sought to be withdrawn. However, the club has now decided to give one month BTF but informed the trainers and owners that the money that was deducted for various funds from the stake money earned from the winning horses will not be undertaken. The contingency fund had been created from the stake money deducted from winning horses and the onus is now on these bodies to collect the money themselves directly from the owners. This may be difficult because they have to get compliance letter from each of the owners.
In the meanwhile, BTC is making all efforts to meet its statutory obligations in the event of closure of racing if the government is unrelenting and the club fails to get any relief from the Supreme Court. A perusal of the Articles of Association of BTC which is a deemed limited company reveals some interesting information. The liability of each club member is just Rs 20 while the directors of the company are liable for proceedings under law if they fail to meet various statutory obligations. The articles also state that in the event the club is dissolved, whatever money that is left with the club has to be handed over to a new body which is formed with similar objectives as BTC.
The uncertainty about the future of racing has given anxious moments to the professionals. Though there are many who believe that somehow racing will survive, many others are weighing their options about shifting to other centers. If BTC fails to get its act together, there would be disruption of racing for sometime before a new agency sets up a facility to run racing. Racing in Bangalore faces an uncertain future while Mysore Race Club is all set to emerge as an independent turf authority in the days to come..
The BTC went for an ill-advised battle against the government in the court rooms in the premise the concession of 1915 was a permanent grant. What was more galling was the fact that the club drifted badly from the beginning in its arguments by agreeing to shift if suitable land was given forgetting the very ground on which they took the government to court. The argument that BTC owned the land by way of permanent grant was thus diluted and the dismissal of BTC petition thus did not come as a surprise. By all accounts, BTC was operating on leased land which had been confirmed by the several agreements that the club had signed with the government. Even the articles of the association also mentioned the fact that BTC was operating from leased premises.
BTC is now attempting rapprochement with the government though it appears a tough task at the moment. The Special Leave Petition may or may not serve the purpose because of the opinion expressed by legal luminaries that the outcome is more unpredictable than picking a winner in horse racing. Right now BTC is trying to gain the sympathy of the Chief Minister. The club has already replaced the then chairman with a new one. The BTC committee met the Chief Minister a few days back after many unsuccessful attempts and though he did not hold\ out any promise in his brief meeting, he is said to have assured the club delegates that he would meet them leisurely at a later date. Unfortunately with the Chairman not available in Bangalore for a month, the meeting with Chief Minister may take more time and as such, the cloud of uncertainty will continue to hang over the club.
The good news is that BTC has decided to permit outstation horses to participate in the summer season as usual. The charm of the summer season is the participation of outstation horses. Also the classics get the boost because of the participation of the best horses of the preceding season from all over the country and also the entry money contributed by the owners of these horses. Barring an odd Steward, the BTC Managing Committee was said to have been unanimous in its decision to permit outstation horses. There was resistance for this move by the local owners’ body. Pesi Shroff, Cooji Katrak and Dallas Todywalla are the trainers from Mumbai who will surely bring their wards for the summer season along with the usual contingent from Hyderabad.
The stake money announced for the season will match that offered for the summer season of 2008. There has been cut in the incentives to the tune of Rs 1,5 crores as against the originally projected figure of Rs 3 crores. In the original proposal, the club had proposed to totally do away with all incentives but the same has been restored for small owners.. The KROA and KTA wanted the club to return the contingency fund that is kept with the club. The fund was created to meet any contingency arising out of the Provident Fund claim by the syces working with the trainers. The club has not yet complied with this demand..
Originally, the club refused to take the burden of collecting the BTF from owners and the three month credit offered to trainers was sought to be withdrawn. However, the club has now decided to give one month BTF but informed the trainers and owners that the money that was deducted for various funds from the stake money earned from the winning horses will not be undertaken. The contingency fund had been created from the stake money deducted from winning horses and the onus is now on these bodies to collect the money themselves directly from the owners. This may be difficult because they have to get compliance letter from each of the owners.
In the meanwhile, BTC is making all efforts to meet its statutory obligations in the event of closure of racing if the government is unrelenting and the club fails to get any relief from the Supreme Court. A perusal of the Articles of Association of BTC which is a deemed limited company reveals some interesting information. The liability of each club member is just Rs 20 while the directors of the company are liable for proceedings under law if they fail to meet various statutory obligations. The articles also state that in the event the club is dissolved, whatever money that is left with the club has to be handed over to a new body which is formed with similar objectives as BTC.
The uncertainty about the future of racing has given anxious moments to the professionals. Though there are many who believe that somehow racing will survive, many others are weighing their options about shifting to other centers. If BTC fails to get its act together, there would be disruption of racing for sometime before a new agency sets up a facility to run racing. Racing in Bangalore faces an uncertain future while Mysore Race Club is all set to emerge as an independent turf authority in the days to come..
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