Annus Horribilis for R.W.I.T.C. Ltd.

IT IS distressing to have to record that the season gone by has been in many ways perhaps the worst racing season at Mahalakshmi that this writer can recall, since he first saw Rosette score in a Class VB race in December 1965. The current team at the helm of affairs of the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. appears to be significantly out of touch with its members and patrons, and racing in Western India has completely lost its lustre.

This is not merely the writer's observation, but an echo heard from far and wide. On the face of it, a long season has been completed without disruption. No appalling incidents like the invasion of the weighing room by bookmakers took place during this term. Some of those in authority might like to take credit for this normal functioning, but the ``achievement'' is actually no more than would have been expected from any organisation after over 80 years of existence.

One cannot put a finger on a single button to highlight the ills of the local turf. Rather, it is the combination of many actions (or lack thereof!) and events that have prompted the initial observation. Ten points will serve to explain.

The present racing system

For any racing programme to draw crowds, it has to be credible. The public does not possess an infinite desire to throw away money, and so if the feeling gains currency that ``racing is fixed'', the public deserts the sport. This has been happening for some time now, as witnessed by diminishing attendances. The present handicapping system, inherited from the British, has outlived its utility and is the main factor behind manipulation and concurrent loss of credibility.

Yet, the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. has made no attempt whatsoever, since the present committee took over in December 2000, to alter the programme. The introduction of more level weights maiden races for four-year-olds, allowance races and claiming races, so as to reduce the proportion of handicaps from 80% to say 50% (if not lower), does not figure on the agenda. Indirectly, does this inertia not amount to collusion with those who wish to bring horses down by failing to run them on merit?

There were several incidents of ``in-and-out'' running during the season. To give credit where it is due, one has to say that the stewards noticed a good many of them. Regrettably, not enough was done to the offenders. ``Noting an explanation'', after a convoluted 250-word exposition in ungrammatical English, is not calculated to engender confidence the public wants reasons. Nor are ten-day suspensions and Rs. 5,000 fines going to deter anyone! One trainer, Janardhan, admitted to deliberately bringing a horse down in the handicap. The consequence was a mild sentence of Rs.25,000, made even milder on appeal. When, at a welcome press conference called to clear the air, this point was raised, the Chairman of the club made an astonishing statement to the effect that the punishment had been tailored to the person concerned. Had a major trainer been involved (such as, for example, Bezan Chenoy, the name quoted by the Chairman, much to the latter's chagrin!), it appears the punishment would have been higher!

This is a negation of the principle that all are equal before the law, and merely emphasises the degree of confusion that has prevailed regarding punishments. But why persevere with a system that fosters the manipulation that invites the punishment?

The calibre of horses

A country's breeding programme depends on the opportunities presented by race clubs. It follows that if there are no races for poor horses, in the long run no one will produce such horses. Abolition of Class VB some years ago was a huge step in the right direction. Yet, even now as many as 50% of the horses in Western India are in the lowest class! A survey done by this writer in February showed 425 out of the 850 older horses were in Class V.

Three conclusions can be drawn from this. One, that the prize money levels in Western India are too low and hence better class horses have been directed elsewhere, leaving these parts with this surfeit of junk. Second, there is something seriously wrong with a method of classification consisting of five classes that has half the horses in a single class. Finally, is it not evident that there are too many races framed for such poor horses, thereby encouraging their production?

Outstation horses

The essence of horse racing is free and fair competition. Barring logical restrictions like reserving certain races for different age groups or different sexes, there is no place whatsoever for one that prevents horses running at Mahalakshmi, or Pune, merely because they happen to originate elsewhere in India.

A bogey was raised about similar restrictions operating elsewhere. Well, two wrongs do not make a right, and debarring even members of the club from bringing their own horses from other centres showed how little those that framed these rules cared about their constituents. With fewer horses now in training, there was a dire need to scrap these restrictions, but of course nothing of the sort has happened.

The Tote

The saving grace for the local turf has been the healthy turnover on the Tote.

New ticket vending machines have been introduced which have speeded up the transaction time, something that will prove to be a source of great strength to the club. Combining of pools with other race clubs during simulcasting is another growth area.

Can one then believe that the back-up power for the computer system used for the Tote is inadequate? Or that the communication links are so poor that the much-touted ``live telecast'' breaks down with monotonous regularity? One finds it hard to believe that heads do not roll for the ineffective response to such happenings. Opportunity to grasp the betting rupee does not knock twice!

The Delhi Race Club

Although not part of the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd., the Delhi Race Club races under its rules. Is it not peculiar that it is allowed to frame Class VB races under rules that have abolished Class VB races? Is it not peculiar that a premises 500 metres from the high security residence of the Prime Minister of India should witness two incidents of rioting after shady displays in April alone? The filth so literally in evidence at the D.R.C. premises rubs off on the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. and the sooner it washes its hands off this millstone, the better it will be.

Administration

It is evident that the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. does not know how to keep its house in order. Else, how would one explain huge losses, year after year?

In frantic attempts at avoiding facing the truth, the club is desperately hoping to raise revenue from soft targets, while turning a stone face to the cancer of illegal betting. Hard hit are owners (reduced stake money, increased charges, haphazard accounting), breeders (unconscionable increases in registration charges and auction sale entry fees) and parents of marriageable children (hefty charges for use of the lawns).

Not even discussed is the battle against illegal betting, which deprives the club from revenues that are legitimately due to it. Instead, those reputed to wager ``off the course'' are often seen frequenting the weighing room, basking in the indirect sanction accorded to their nefarious designs.

Night racing

Early in the year, members received a circular outlining the terms and conditions under which a party was to be given a contract to conduct night racing.

Now whether night racing will prove to be the panacea for all ills as is being projected is not at all clear. This writer is not aware of any survey that has suggested that fans of horse racing find afternoon racing an insurmountable barrier to their participation. On the other hand, it might well provide just that much fillip to the sport so as to tip the scales in the direction of black ink, rather than the red in which it finds itself. Who knows?

However, so absurdly riddled with loopholes was the proposed agreement that it defies description how it was even drafted, leave alone found worthy of circulation! Several members pointed out these lacunae, and the project immediately went into cold storage. What does rankle, though, is the feeling that the committee was not acting in the best interests of its members, by daring to insult its intelligence with such an amateurishly designed proposal.

Air-conditioned lounges

The idea of building air-conditioned lounges at Mahalakshmi racecourse is, by itself, a sound one. That these should be built at someone else's cost involving a dubious quid pro quo is not. Neither is it wise to destroy the elegance of the member's stand by altering its structure. If at all the club wants lounges, there is plenty of vacant space where these could have been built without disturbing the members and patrons. If the club cannot afford such construction, it would be best to wait for brighter times.

What actually transpired is something Kafka would have been proud of. Unknown to all but the chosen few, a proposal was pushed through to allot several hundred square metres of prime grandstand space for the construction of three lounges, a portion of which would be for the exclusive use of the allottees who financed the construction.

Whatever may be the protestations to the contrary, the whole affair was conducted in a somewhat clandestine manner and all opposition was evidently not to be brooked. Neither aesthetic considerations, nor such apparently trivial factors as absence of any revenue to the club from private and unbridled use of this space, bothered those who were in its favour.

Nothing proved the dictatorial manner in which the club functioned with greater certitude than the way in which the former Chairman cut short the brilliant exposition that noted advocate J.P. Avasia was propounding at the last Annual General Meeting in December 2000. Demolishing the club's arguments with surgical precision, Mr. Avasia was obviously too deep a thorn in the side of the establishment, and so he had to be instantly silenced.

He was interrupted and a hasty vote was taken on the matter, which was not on the agenda. Before anyone could react, the matter was ``passed''. As the then Chairman was a potential beneficiary of the proposed terms, it was not at all fitting that he should have participated it would have been far better had an EGM been called and the matter thrashed out in a democratic manner.

But why should the ills of the previous committee be visited on the present one, it may well be asked? Simply because of a new circular, issued no less than 115 days after the committee took office. This circular, dated April 15, attempts to explain the present committee's views, which are, believe it or not, co- terminus with those of the previous one! If hands are clean, why does it take one-third of one's term to issue such a clarification?

And interestingly, sources told this writer that under express instructions, the circular was mailed only to stand members initially, the mailing for club members being so timed as to arrive after the racing season was over, thereby reducing the chances of debate and discussion between them. Whether this is true or false, this writer does not know, but at the time of writing, despite being a club member, he has not received the document, fully sixteen days after its issue. Postal delay, no doubt!

Mobile phones

One of the more contentious issues during the recent season was the introduction of permission to carry mobile phones into the racecourse on payment of a fee.

Most clubs do not prohibit members from carrying mobile phones into their premises, although of course their use in closed areas is not permitted, with a view to preventing disturbance to other members. Nor can any fees be charged on the principle of mutuality.

However, when the arrival of these devices was first on the anvil in India, the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. was noticeably prompt in publishing advertisements in race-cards to the effect that the use of mobile phones, pagers, etc., was expressly prohibited during racing. When queried at the time, authorities said this ban was introduced to combat the potential menace of patrons using them to conduct illegal betting.

What a volte face in 2001! The sinking finances of the club appear to have compelled it to jettison its morals and to allow mobile phones to be used on payment of Rs.1,000 per phone per race day. It is claimed that about Rs. 2 crore can be generated annually in this manner.

Now what would the users be discussing on these phones? Affairs of state, perhaps? Stock market quotes? Urgent business? Or would they be laying illegal bets? Criminal jurisprudence recognises the role of those who facilitate a crime and labels such persons as ``accessories''. These are visited with the same punishments as accrue to those who actually perpetrate the crime. Assuming racegoers are using mobile phones to lay illegal bets, would that make those who have facilitated this the cellular service providers and the club liable for action? An interesting thought.

Dissension in the committee

Exchange of views is vital in a democracy. The present committee of nine members was elected unopposed, and included for the first time a lady member, Ms. Varsha Thakker.

It appears the views of this lady were different to those of the majority. Fair enough. She was entitled to her say by virtue of being chosen to represent members, and the others were just as equally entitled to their own opinions, with the majority view prevailing.

Sources suggest her opposition to some issues was proving uncomfortable and that a conscious decision was taken to ``silence'' her. Evidently, she played into the hands of those who opposed her by providing them with a handle (she excessively espoused some completely unworthy causes, such as those of stray dogs at the racecourse). At the present time, there is a stalemate, as she has not appeared before the stewards as requested, which she ought to have.

Without going into the merits of her case, this column only wishes to point out that the ``witch hunt'' that ensued is without parallel in the annals of the club.

There was even an attempt to drum up support for an EGM on this solitary subject. The incident would (and is perhaps intended to) give a message that dissent is fraught with attendant risks.

If this writer has dealt at length with some of the issues facing the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. in 2001, it is not with a sense of malice towards anyone (discussions on personalities have been eschewed) but out of a sense of deep distress at the drift in its affairs. It appears that hardly anyone of those entrusted by us members to manage the affairs of our club has appreciated how close lies disaster. Hard decisions are necessary to stem the rot. Leaders must act in a manner that is ``above suspicion''. One wishes anyone who summons the required courage to tackle the burning issues head-on all the very best of strength. He - or she - is going to need it.

DARK LEGEND

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