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Sport of the Kings set to resume in a fortnight’s time at Pune
By Usman Rangila | 15 Jul 2003 | PUNE
The Pune racing season 2003 though truncated is set to take off on Thursday, July 17. Only 33 race meetings are scheduled to be held during the season spanning a little over three-months and the curtains on the racing programme, which used to roll down towards the end of October, will for the first time, after more than a decade, come down in mid-October.
Though no official reason is forthcoming as yet, RWITC sources say that the club’s managing committee was not keen to hold racing in the last week of October as it coincides with the Diwali festival. The committee felt that the attendance dropped considerably due to the week-long festive rituals of Diwali and thought it was economically prudent to conclude the racing season on October 19. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the committee is mulling over plans to have an extended Mumbai racing season which is due to start in the second week of November. Traditionally, the Mumbai racing season would end in April but could now stretch till mid-May if the owners and trainers don’t spike the club’s plans.
Western India owners will have a reason to smile this season as the club has finally conceded their long-standing demand to bring the stake money, disbursed during the Pune season, on par with the stakes being offered at Mumbai. This will result in a slight increase in the outflow of total stake money during the forthcoming season. The gross amount on offer in the previous year was 3.24 crore (35 meetings) whereas this year it is pegged at 3.46 crore (33 meetings), an average increase of roughly 10 per cent.
The Nanoli Stud & Agricultural Farms’ sponsored Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, to be run on October 12, remains the star attraction of the season. The other events that will feature the Pune racing calendar are Akkasaheb Maharaj Trophy (August 3), Ahmed Abbas Gold Million (August 10), Hills & Dales Independence Trophy (August 15), F.D. Wadia Trophy (August 17), Turf Club Trophy (August 24), General Rajendrasinhji Trophy (August 31), Eve Champion Trophy (Sept. 7), The Fourth Estate Trophy (Sept. 13), Southern Command Trophy (Sept. 14), S.A. Poonawalla Trophy (Sept. 21), Idar Gold Trophy (Sept. 28), Western India Owners’ Fillies & Mares Stakes (Oct. 5), N.H.
Dhunjibhoy Sprint Championship (Oct.12), Suresh Mahindra Trophy (Oct. 18), and RWITC Invitational Trophy (Oct. 19).
The club is still lagging behind on the sponsorship front and is yet to forge a fruitful alliance with any major corporate house to lend a helping hand to this once popular sport, also widely acknowledged as the Sport of the Kings. On the contrary, a couple of sponsors have in fact pulled out this year notably Piaggio Ape, Parx and McDonald which should certainly be a cause of worry to Mr D. Arun Nanda, head of the one-man media and marketing sub--committee of the club. Mr Nanda, who is credited with many a successful marketing campaign in the country, finds himself saddled with the unenviable task of roping in new sponsors for this glorious sport whose image has suffered a near-fatal blow in the last decade.
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