BENGALURU: Split seconds matter when horses gallop towards the winning post. Pride, fortune and many lives are in the fray when people bet on the outcome of races. Now, can you think of a racing club which allows people to bet as late as an hour after the race has started?
It is all happening at Bangalore Turf Club (BTC). A forensic audit by a reputed private firm has reportedly revealed many alleged irregularities at BTC, including betting after race time, reuse of tickets to let in more people, and lack of transparency in infrastructure and services contracts.
The report looked at income and expenditure from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2024, at the BTC. Sources said the private firm had recently submitted the report to the BTC management.
On betting after the start of the race, the report has stated that in 731 out of 88.57 lakh tickets, the betting time was after the race start time. The time difference ranged from one second to one hour.
Out of 731, 166 were winning tickets: Report
Out of 731 tickets, 166 were winning tickets, amounting to Rs 2.34 lakh, the report stated.
Sources said it also highlighted that liquor amounting to Rs 19 lakh was shown as consumption for meetings, but no records were maintained for issue/receipt/consumption of such stock. It also mentions potential excess transportation cost. As per the note of the firm that supplied liquor, they charged 2% commission on liquor purchases. The 2% commission on total liquor purchase was Rs 3.46 lakh, but the firm was paid Rs 5.24 lakh, the report stated.
The report stated that gate tickets worth Rs 19.77 lakh (39,437 tickets) appeared twice in the sales workings. Tickets were issued random serial numbers with no adherence.
Medicines were allegedly bought often from a single vendor and in many cases, quotations were obtained from the same supplier, with no negotiation, the report stated.
The report also mentioned issues related to the bookmakers’ fee. No signature or approval was maintained for the weekly rosters, although a biometric system is installed in the premises, the same is not utilized to track the bookmakers’ attendance.