A big controversy has been whipped up by members of the turf club about the continuance of Zeyn Mirza as Steward of the Bangalore Turf Club following disclosure that he owned a horse for a month early this year and the horse was stabled in the premises of the Bangalore Turf Club under his name. The matter has been referred to legal consultants to find out whether he could be considered as a race horse owner or a lessor and hence does not attract disqualification under the Articles of Association of Bangalore Turf Club.

The whole matter has been reduced to a technicality with supporters of either groups ranging up to fight the battle and in the process causing irreparable damage to the edifice. The internecine quarrel is sure to hurt the interest of the sport and erode the credibility of the club. The club has already been hammered by various Income Tax claims but unfortunately in the fight over an individual, the general body has not taken serious note of the precarious position that the club is in following the onslaught of income tax claims and has strangely remained silent about calling a Special General Body meeting to tackle the serious problem.

The question is whether Mirza is eligible to be the Steward of the club or not. In the late 80’s there were several allegations of race fixing by Stewards who also owned horses. Following public outcry and police investigation into the same when Mr. Harlankar was the Police Commissioner of Bangalore, he recommended to the government the desirability of making changes in the administrative set up and believed that members who owned horses should not be allowed to stand as Stewards as they were working in the interest of their own horses. The BTC was told to amend the Articles of Association to incorporate this rule but the club initially did not pay heed. The club was forced to amend the rule when the government did not give permission for the club to operate off-course betting for two months during September and October and fearing being crippled financially as the revenue from off-course betting was the lifeline of the club, the members prevailed upon the managing committee to call an EGM and voted unanimously for amendment of the rule.

Under the amended rule, the blood relatives of those owning horses were also excluded from contesting for the post of Steward. The amendment did not go beyond the immediate family because nobody envisaged that an employee, representing the interests of a big owner, was going to exploit the loophole. One of the former KROA office bearers guided Zeyn Mirza how he was not disqualified to become a Steward as he is not a blood relative of Vijay Mallya and since he was only an employee of the big owner; the limitation did not affect him. The technicality cleared that he could contest though on the question of propriety, he was not cleared but he did not care for these niceties.

The general body which elected Zeyn Mirza did not pause to consider whether they were acting in the best interest of the sport or were trying to sabotage the accepted norms. By electing him, they were not doing the sport any good. The conflict of interest in the case of Zeyn Mirza was much higher than in the case of normal race horse owners. A race horse owner represents the interests of his own horses. Here was a case of him representing the largest string of horses of a particular individual whose interests he was bound to protect being a full time paid employee. The conflict of interest as a result was glaring as he not only had to take care of the owners’ horses but also that of those of the professionals who were associated with these horses. Since Kunigal Stud Farm is part of the establishment of which he is the head, he has pressure to be accommodative of those buying horses from him. He has the powers to allot horses to trainers, bring in more into the fold, engage jockeys and decide which race to run. His influence on the way horses ran is absolute. Vijay Mallya has given him absolute powers and thus the relationship becomes not one of employer-employee but more than a blood relative. It is equivalent of a father-son relationship.

Since Zeyn Mirza is an active Steward and has the support of others in the committee, the equation was bound to put pressure on the officials from discharging their duties to their best interests without compromising. Since the Stewards have power to in appoint or remove any racing official, his position becomes all the more untenable. Sinclair Marshall, who retired as a jockey more than a decade ago, has been brought back as Stipendiary Steward. One is not sure what purpose this appointment is going to serve as the former jockey has no experience in this field and he was only defending jockeys who had been suspended or pulled up by the authorities. He was also responsible for many strikes by jockeys which affected racing. Importantly, he was also Manager of Kunigal Stud Farm young bloodstock for considerable period of time working under Zeyn Mirza.

Since Sinclair was always batting for the jockeys whose interests he represented and benefitted as a result, how his induction as a stipe is going to benefit is something only Stewards can explain. This move is sure to dishearten the existing young Stipes and send a wrong signal that unless they keep doing the bidding of powerful Stewards, their existence is under threat. The conflict of interest can be seen here as well as in cases pertaining to enquiries where questionable decisions have been taken. Two serious charge-sheets pertaining to two professionals were modified and watered down. In one instance, the person representing the professional was also the person who advised Zeyn Mirza how he can circumvent the rule to enable him to contest as a Steward. There is also talk doing the rounds about allotment of stables and the preferential treatment given to horses sold in Karnataka. There is also talk of interference in the licensing of professionals. One of his main trainers was only fined for working the horse in wrong track number whereas in the past such instances had resulted in suspension. A new precedent has thus been set. If people see something more than what meets the eye, they are not entirely wrong. As they say Justice should not only be done but seem to be done.

Our toughest decisions end up being some of our best decisions. As Mahatma Gandhi said: There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.’’

Zeyn Mirza should consider whether he wants to be guided by loopholes in the rule or conscience which clearly defines that his being a Steward is untenable because of the conflict of interests of the job that he has at hand and the one that he has set out to do in another capacity.