B R Sharan Kumar

  BTC Stewards, your slip is showing!   By Sharan Kumar   Last Sunday’s incident when General Patton was declared a non-starter under dubious circumstances was a blot on the Stewards who are supposed to ensure fair racing. The incidents leading to the outcome of the race deserve a thorough investigation as there’s more to the event than meets the eye.   The lower division of the Tudor Jet Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, saw Prasanna Kumar trained Always Happy being backed to the exclusion of the rest. The odds offered on General Patton which had opened as a joint-favourite along with Always Happy in the ante-post betting drifted out alarmingly, suggesting that the horse would not be seen in serious business. Coincidentally, the horse did not get a good start, the jockey took out one of his feet from the stirrups and midway through the race put it back in the stirrup. The horse finished down the field. There was a Stewards enquiry as the jockey of...

  The best of times (for some) at Royal Ascot By Rolf Johnson I t was the best of Royal Ascots, it was the worst of Royal Ascots – how often do we fall back on variations of Charles Dickens`s “It was the best of times it was the worst of times” when stumped for a description of momentous events? But how then do you otherwise characterize this latest Royal meeting (the first was in 1911), with its arresting deeds, momentous results but leavened with a sluice of outsiders, form upsets that defied analysis? Consider the lost legions of Godolphin runners - at best disappointing, at worst catastrophic for Dubai`s multi-million-pound operation – twenty-seven runners, twenty-seven losers. 266,000 thousand in total attended the five days - King Charles III every day in his first Ascot since his recent accession to the throne. The late Queen Elizabeth II only had to wait a couple of weeks after her coronation for the first her of twenty-three Royal meeting winners; King Charles had to be pa...

        Ill-advised or brilliant strategy?   By Sharan Kumar   The Government of India recently introduced in its financial bill the clause that all earnings on betting when it exceeds Rs 10000 are subject to TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) of 30 per cent. The amendment was in respect of 194 BB in respect of the Rs 10000 allowance for a year as against the clubs’ practising the allowance per transaction.  The amendment has wider implications for the sport, including crippling it in the long run. The new rule entails the clubs keep the KYC of all punters so that the earnings from betting are to be taxed when it exceeds Rs 10000 under Rule 194 BB.   Almost all the turf clubs in India have fallen in line and implemented the new rule. A punter must have KYC if he has to encash his winning ticket or otherwise a TDS of 30 per cent is deducted. The clubs did not take up the issue when the bill was introduced and woke up to its implications...

Are the British government betting restrictions on the money?   By Rolf Johnson   I’m jumping the gun. The Government’s Gambling Review  might  publish its findings on 17 April but as deadlines for its publication have come and gone over three yawning years, I don’t think there’s need to hold one’s breath long enough to asphyxiate oneself. The delay has nothing to do, we are assured, with the £378,000 that fifty-seven Members of Parliament have received since the last election in hospitality, gifts, donations and wages from bookmakers. The integrity of that largesse has been “checked” though whether as rigorously as it is intended the public’s betting habits are going to be, we’ll have to be patient – until April 17 at least. Theatre audiences continue to attend playwright Samuel Beckett’s 1981 masterpiece ‘Waiting for Godot’ whose message is that repeated nonsensical actions demonstrate man’s inability to give meaning to life. Heavy stuff: but the Gambling Commissio...

  The curse of BTC election for members   By Sharan Kumar   Members are inducted into almost all race clubs in the country based on their credentials after being in the queue till such time the Managing Committee feels that the time is ripe for inducting new members to the club. The size of the membership of the club is dependent on the size of the club. Clubs like Royal Western India Turf Club and Madras Race Club have about 1000 members.   In recent times, the Madras Race Club inducted in excess of 200 members. The criteria were simple: the applicant had to pay the requisite fee of about Rs 8 lakhs plus GST besides having an interest in the sport. That is the way it should be. Expansion of the club also fetches revenue to the club and only those who are keen will apply for membership. After all race clubs are not service clubs but clubs run for a specific purpose. In this case, to conduct the sport of horse racing.   Essentially, a race club should have member...

  Racing can slip into a deep coma   By Sharan Kumar One is not sure how proactive the Turf Authorities of India are in finding solutions to prevent the impending TDS regime set to kick in April. Instead of the old scheme under which TDS was deducted only on earnings of more than Rs 10,000 on one ticket, the new system envisages payment of TDS once the earnings cross Rs 10,000. Under the new regime, the onus is on the club to deduct the TDS and hence the clubs are expected to maintain the KYC of all its punters.   The deduction is not under 194 A under which you can set off losses against income. The TDS is under 195 BB which means that the money that you earn is considered a windfall gain and it cannot be set off against losses. The money deducted is gone out of the system for good. In the absence of KYC, all winnings will have to be taxed. As a result, the punter may end up giving money out of his pocket when he has played a short-priced favourite. The taxing ...

  Can you back online on Bangalore races? By Sharan Kumar Can you back online on Bangalore races? This is the question that is being posted by racegoers on our public form repeatedly. The government of Karnataka has not given permission for BTC to conduct online betting on its races. The turf club uses this as the reason for not letting other turf clubs in India conduct online betting on Bangalore races possibly as it does not want the other clubs to benefit. The club has not clarified that it is barred from letting others conduct online betting on its races.     BTC perhaps is right in not allowing other clubs to conduct online betting whether the government has denied permission for the host club. But can the BTC clarify whether the government has given it permission to allow online betting by app-based websites stationed outside of India?   The turf club has sold signals to a foreign entity for a small sum after signing a long contract when it could ha...