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BTC takes a big gamble for Summer Season

  May 22 , 2014
   

The Bangalore Turf Club has taken a big gamble during the Summer Season by cutting half a per cent from its commission on totalisator pool on win, place and second horse place. The club has also made a drastic cut in its take on forecast and quinella pools by cutting its commission from 44 per cent to 27 per cent. This is with a view to boosting the returns to the punters who patronize the club operated betting pools. The club has done away with the mini jackpot pool.

The turf club has a turnover of about Rs 1600 crores on totalisator pools, with the government take being eight per cent by way of turnover tax while that of the club was four and half per cent which included the service tax payable as well. This in effect means that the club would be taking a total risk of losing Rs 10 crores if there is no projected increase in turnover to offset the losses due to cut in its intake. The turf club has taken a bold decision to abolish bookmakers in the second enclosure with a view to establishing a total tote monopoly over a long run. The increase in stall fees on bookmakers in the first enclosure is to fetch an additional Rs 3 crores but the rest has to be made by way of getting increased turnover on the tote.

One hopes for the sake of the turf club the move pays off. Chairman Harimohan Naidu and his team must be complimented for their effort because the ills of racing are because the system is heavily bookmaker oriented betting. The tote has no bias as the victory of a faovurite or an outsider has no bearing on the commission earned by the club whereas in bookmaker oriented betting, everything counts. Moreover, the bookmakers take the profits home where as the profits earned by the club are put back to racing. The tote revolution in Bangalore started with the club cutting its commission on tote betting from 25 per cent to 2.5 per cent thanks to the then Government of Karnataka agreeing for a guaranteed return annually in exchange for allowing the club to determine its own betting tax and commission.

The club has given the biggest hike ever given by any club in the country for a single season and hence one could call the move of the club to take a cut on the tote returns as a calculated move but nevertheless a big gamble.

The quinella pool is the most popular one in centres like Hong Kong which sees record collection on its pools. The BTC had made no effort to promote this pool. Forecast and quinella pools are very popular at a centre like Hyderabad as the good dividends that punters get has made more people addicted to these pools. One hopes that these pools get a big boost like the Second Horse Pool got in the last decade.

Chairman of the Bangalore Turf Club Harimohan Naidu told newsmen on Thursday that the club had decided to stop the live streaming of races during this season. The step has been taken to prevent illegal betting on its racing as the availability of live feed was considered detrimental in augmenting more betting, he said. The reasoning of the club will have to stand scrutiny. Live streaming had surely helped in taking the sport to the drawing rooms of racing enthusiasts all over the world and the taboo associated with the sport was somewhat weakening with the sports gaining greater acceptance as watching race proceedings live with the family enhanced the appeal and acceptance of the sport.

There was a delay of 30 seconds though the webcast was called live. The club could have considered giving a delayed feed or not provided the feed locally but made it available or worst of times, made it a pay channel for those following Bangalore racing closely from far corners of India where there is no provision for attending inter venue betting or for those in other parts of the world. The turf club needs to monetize all its activities but merely cutting off the feed does not serve the purpose. One hopes there is a change of perception because live streaming definitely did not affect betting on totes but instead brought more money due to greater exposure.

A point to be noted by all those who judge the chances of horses on the basis of handicap is the fact that older horses have been dropped six points at the end of the winter season. The three year old rating is not done with this drop in mind. As a result, three year olds running in lower classes won`t enjoy any supremacy but in fact are worse off by six points. A seasoned performer in lower class surely would enjoy an edge over three year olds. There are several horses which were in higher class but have been given repeated runs for the last few years. They have come down a lot in handicap both due to annual six points drop plus the drop gained by repeated runs. These horses need to be watched when there is a tremendous surge in betting on these horses.

The season is bound to be competitive with best horses from all over India coming for the season. The races for three year olds have held their own fascination; the graded races for older horses will attract as much attention as the classics as the Horse of the Year Alaindair will be seen in action along with others who raced with him but now run with handicap advantage.

Malesh Narredu trained Be Safe enjoys the highest rated at 70 while three year old filly Maisha is not far behind. The difference of rating would have been higher had not Be Safe not lost the Poonawalla Million due to a miserable ride given by his jockey. However, the two will clash on Sunday with a vast difference of weights in the Gr 2 Nanoli Stud Juvenile Million and as such; Maisha has a realistic chance of causing an upset.

There are quite a few three year olds which have shown vast improvement in their form as evidenced by their workouts. The interesting thing about this season is that because of the fact that outstation horses were allowed early into the race course, they look ready from the first week`s racing itself. The quantum of work that one sees everyday is indicative of the fact that it would be tough to spot winners in majority of races.

 
 
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Total Comments : 1
Posted by prasad on ( May 23 , 2014 )
It is a good news for tote punters reducing the tax on returns. BTc should not have stopped live steaming just for the sake of illegal betting, instead club should have charged more for Mobile Phone`s which are rampant inside the ring. club may be ignorant of what is happening in the ring. Money is flowing outside than coming inside.
 
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