With just a few days left for Mumbai racing to conclude, it is time to make an assessment of the eventful year. Racing was devastated by equine influenza which very nearly threatened to cause long term economic ruin on the sport. The epidemic also showed lack of preparedness on the part of the authorities.

Luckily, there was swift recovery and Indian racing was back on track within three months of the dreaded infectious disease affecting horses in Pune, Kolkata, Delhi and Mysore. While the Mumbai season was delayed by over three months, the other centres, barring Mysore, also were back on track. Mysore cancelled its winter season as resuming the season during March was not considered feasible due to scorching weather conditions. The season is now set to resume on May 9, with 18 days of racing scheduled. The number of race days lost will be made up during the summer and the regular season. The Mysore authorities provided economic help to the owners and what was heartening was the fact that the Stewards themselves paid a substantial amount from their pockets. MRC chairman N V Babu, C Kanthraj Urs, C P Chinnappa and G Venkatesh contributed to the fund as the club was not in a sound economic position to do so. This is a noble act indeed.
On the racing front, drastic overhaul in the mindset of the authorities is required. While the Mumbai racing is all about glamour and catering to the higher end of racing, with all the stake money concentrated on the big races, much to the detrimental of lower class races and small owners, racing in Bangalore is hurt by the egoistic and petty mindedness of the people at the helm. Kolkata is trying to build its racing but it has several limitations as racing hasn`t still won back many of the big owners who left in the last decade. The new breed of owners is yet to emerge in a big way. Drastic overhaul in the existing system is the need of the hour at Hyderabad.

One club which has come into prominence in the last two years is Hyderabad Race Club, thanks to its ``tactical change`` in re-rescheduling its racing programme to Sunday and Monday, thereby allowing all racing centres to conduct off course betting. Hyderabad racing is now followed enthusiastically all over the country but one thing that may restrict its total acceptance is the reluctance of the authorities to bring it with the mainstream by making changes in the handicapping system to the more acceptable practice followed elsewhere in the country. Change is what Hyderabad authorities need to make both in their feudal mindset as well as the system that is in place if they are to give national character to their racing.

This year`s Indian Derby winner took home in excess of Rs 1 crore which is what is the stake money that is in offer for over 50 ordinary races at Mumbai. If one were to compute the stake money offered for a dozen races, the total stake money that is there for dispersal for the rest of the races is next to nothing. While about a dozen races take all the stake money, over 1000 horses have to vie for about 300 odd races and the rest of the stake money which works out to double or treble of that offered for a dozen races! Surely there is unequal distribution and the authorities need to address this issue because this will hurt the sport in the long run. Attendances at Mumbai have been far from satisfactory barring the big race days and this is so because every effort is made to market these events while the rest of the race days are not given the importance that they deserve. Small owners, ordinary races are to be catered to if racing has to thrive in its entirety.

Racing in Bangalore has been good, with stake money evenly distributed. Incentives to local owners have played a big role in attracting higher participation. However, racing has suffered because of egos on the part of the authorities and the professionals as well. Racing which is the very reason for these people to come together itself has been the victim often in ego clashes. Racing has often been halted for issues which could be sorted out by dialogue. While the egos of the authorities is detrimental to the sport, equally bad is the aggressive and confrontationist attitude of owners and professionals.

The Royal Calcutta Race Club made earnest efforts to improve its racing by inviting horses form all centres and hiking the stakes enormously thanks to the windfall it got by developing its properties. However, the local owners are up in arms, calling for a restriction of participation of outstation horses. The quality of racing is yet to pick up though there is discernible enthusiasm on the part of the powers that be.