BENGALURU: With feather hats, colourful ties and gowns, Bengaluru’s winter derby was held on a sunny Sunday afternoon. There was the bubbly champagne in hand but uncertainty was writ on the brows of participants and organisers.
Said to be the most expensive winter derbies till date, with the tab running to `1,60,70,000, Bengaluru’s heritage sport celebrated its 155th year with fewer horses and bets compared to previous years. The organisers blamed the 28 per cent GST imposed on the club and the uncertainty over license renewal of the Bangalore Turf Club. “We are running on appeal, but the future is uncertain,” said a committee member.
The winter Derby, held every year in December, faced two months delay and its dates clashed with Bombay Derby. This resulted in about 30% drop in participation, when compared to other winter races.
Though summer derbies are more extravagant, winter ones have their own charm. For instance, Raj Sethia, a Bengalurean, said that he has been attending every winter race for the past ten years. This year, he flew down from Chennai and had booked his return flight for right after the event. He was winning all the bets he had placed and pegged it to luck and strategy. However, he too sounded disheartened by the cloud that hangs over the races.
“There were rumours of the club moving to the outskirts of the city but all the other cities have it within city limits. I wonder what would happen to the club if it has to move,” said Raj.
What will be the future?
PG Balliappa, former chairman of Bangalore Turf Club, said that the matter of the turf club moving to the outskirts will be heard by the Supreme Court but Mahesh Shivananda, ex-committee member of the club, said that the club has not approved of the idea because it will take a minimum of five years to get it ready.
About 3,000 odd people are directly employed by Bangalore Turf club but any adverse move will impact 50,000 lives, counting the farmers in other parts of the states who farm fodder for the horses. “Bengaluru derbies have the highest ranking for monetary value, when compared to all other cities with an average turnout of `2,000 crore,” says Balliappa.
B Prithviraj, who has been a trainer at Bangalore Turf Club for 14 years and a jockey for 33 years, said that the government is not encouraging the sport. “I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister three months about this. Without the sport, the government will lose about `200 crore in revenue and it will breed illegal bookmakers,” said Prithviraj. He, along with several employees of the club, hasn’t been paid for four months. “If GST isn’t lowered, I am sure we will lose this part of city’s heritage,” added Prithviraj.
Members argued lesser taxes would mean more people betting, this would mean more money.
The 2018 winter derby edition was sponsored by Anjan
Rangaraj, managing director of Catalyst Properties India, who sought this to be a good opportunity to launch the Chennai-based company here. “I am a horse enthusiast. I saw this to be a great way to promote our business,” says Anjan.