Indian Racing Stagnating While the World
Moves Ahead
By Sharan Kumar
While global racing leaders gathered this week at
Saudi Arabia for the 41st 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
remained in place for too long, with little visible reform in systems,
processes, or outreach. Institutional longevity without renewal often produces
stagnation. Utility expires, but tenure continues.
The sport today needs adaptive leadership, data driven
policy, and modern communication strategy. Instead, it is still largely run
through legacy habits and closed room decision making.
Ironically, some of the most meaningful modernisation
in Indian racing has come not from official bodies but from independent digital
platforms. Two Indian racing websites in particular have consistently delivered
data, analysis, education, and timely coverage that help serious racegoers
understand the sport better. They perform an industry service function. Yet
meaningful institutional support for such efforts is missing.
Modern sports ecosystems grow when governing bodies,
media platforms, and data providers work in partnership. Information depth
creates informed customers. Informed customers create sustainable pools.
Sustainable pools create healthier sport. Starving the information layer
weakens the entire pyramid.
Indian racing also continues to underestimate the
difficulty of customer acquisition. This is not a casual spectator sport that
can be picked up overnight. It requires guided exposure, structured education,
transparent data, and credibility in officiating. Without those, younger
audiences will simply choose clearer, faster, and more trusted alternatives.
Meanwhile, the global racing industry is moving toward
AI-based content, short-form video, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and digital
fan education. India, however, risks falling behind by continuing with older
methods while others adapt to new tools and formats.
Telling the story of racing effectively is one of the
most powerful tools for promoting the sport. In India, however, authorities
have largely failed to shape a positive and credible narrative. Too often, what
reaches the public domain are stories of controversy and suspicion rather than
professionalism, welfare, and sporting excellence. When the dominant narrative
turns negative, it discourages new audiences and weakens long-term trust in the
sport.
The first question many outsiders still ask is blunt:
is racing fixed? That perception, fair or not, has become part of the sport’s
public image. It does not stop with casual observers. The same suspicion
appears to influence official attitudes as well, with racing often treated as a
vice activity rather than a regulated sport. The current tax structure reflects
that mindset and adds further strain to an already challenged industry.
The warning signs are already there: declining
engagement, credibility concerns, tax pressures, illegal betting siphoning
revenue, and ownership concentrated in too few hands. These are not isolated
issues. Together, they point to a system under strain.
Other racing jurisdictions are actively updating how
they operate and communicate. Indian racing has been slower to respond.
Comments
Post a Comment