The Bangalore Summer Season has a history of not starting on time either for manmade reasons or nature`s fury. The last decade has seen strikes mostly by trainers and race horse owners causing the cancellation of first two days of racing. And there have also been instances when the first two days have been affected by excess rain. This time around, it is lack of rain which has come back to haunt the season. Last week`s rain gave hopes of a prompt start but thanks to the new experiment of preparing the track without the use of tan bark perhaps also contributed because all these years the track used to be ready even with the amount of rainfall that the track received this season. The club did not have a plan to face the contingency of scanty rain.

There was also one more reason why the authorities perhaps decided to cancel the first two days of the season which was not highlighted in the official note. There is no such thing as a Press Note in BTC. The authorities care a damn in making efforts to inform the racing public. Extracting routine information from the club is more difficult than picking a winner during races! The Secretary is always busy in meetings while nobody has been designated to answer the queries of Newsmen. One has to source information directly from the Stewards or be in the dark.

The authorities woke up late to the task of re-doing the top surface at the entrance of first enclosure and work commenced hardly a fortnight ago. By the look of things, it may take more than a week for civil works to be completed. The official reason, though for the cancellation, has been given out as scanty rainfall. In BTC, things always move at snail`s pace and in the past too we have had authorities taking up major works just before the start of the season. The planning has not been up to expectations.

Over a period of time, the authorities haven`t given much attention to the race track. Their concern was more to do with running of races and there was little investment on the track itself which is so vital to the running and welfare of horses. The club rakes in crores of rupees but the money is not invested on essential things like obtaining fiber running rails or in doing up the track. The pillars which support the running rails have sunk so low that horses can stride out of the rails if the jockey elects to give a rail skimming ride! The running rails at most places are hardly above the knee level of the horses.

Tan bark was used after scraping the surface to prepare the track at the end of the season and miraculously the track used to look green with one or two spells of rains. Over a period of time, the tan powder accumulated and the height of the track when compared to the adjoining sand track went up by more than a foot. The authorities this time decided to do away with the use of tank bark perhaps unwisely as the time gap between the winter and summer season was just a little more than a month and track preparation always depended on the mercy of nature`s bounty. The experiment could have waited for the summer season to go through.

A walk around the track reveals the fact that cancellation of the first two days of racing is hardly going to help. There is no forecast of rain in Bangalore this week and rain is expected only towards the fag end of next week. This could also be detrimental because if we have surfeit of rain, then again it becomes problematic as the track may not be in a position to have too much moisture content. There is inadequate growth of grass especially at the entrance of the home stretch. It is going to become worse because we can`t hope for a miracle within a week. The pounding of hooves is going to further aggravate the problem.

The Young Turks in the committee were aggressive in pushing for change in the way the track has been prepared for well over three decades. They were impatient for a change and as a result, the more experienced person at the club backed out and the onerous task of preparing the track was handed over to a novice. However well he may be qualified, the lack of experience is bound to have a major say in the way the track would be readied for the most prestigious racing calendar of the club. The cancellation of racing in the first week has surely disappointed enthusiastic race goers who were keen for the season to start. For the best part of the summer season, there is no racing anywhere in the country and Bangalore, with national participation, is the focus of attention of race goers all over India.

Be that as it may, there are other areas of concern which the club is refusing to address. As many as seven positives out of eight identified by the Dubai lab have tested negative when the B sample has been sent to other accredited labs. The RWITC discontinued sending the samples to Dubai lab after a spiked sample came negative. The B sample of the same came positive for the drug that was administered and recorded in the log books. The Bangalore Turf Club continues to send the samples to the Dubai lab despite their tests proving unreliable. As per the new rules, the presence of Stanazol attracts a suspension of two years for trainers. If the trainer is not in a position to afford the costs, he risks his livelihood. The club continues to play with the livelihood of the professionals by their cavalier approach as they refuse to own up any responsibility for false positives. There are other medication issues that the club has steadfastly refused to address.