The Calcutta Monsoon Meeting of 2013 is all set to take off with a bang on Tuesday, July 16. The meet comprises 23 race days and is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, October 15. A total of 162 races are slated to be run during this span of three months. Of these, 40 will be Cup events.

The Royal Calcutta Turf Club has approximately 602 horses in station, consisting of 181 two-year-olds and 421 older horses. A further 12 horses that have gone for summering to Bangalore are expected to arrive soon.

The advertised stake money for the Monsoon Season is a little more than Rs. 7.57 crore and Trophies and Cups valued at over Rs. 10 lakh will be up for grabs. This is a favourable hike as compared to the Monsoon Season of 2012 where the advertised stake money was Rs. 6.65 crore and Trophies and Cups amounted to Rs. 10 lakh. The Stakes for the handicap races have been enhanced by 20 per cent. This considerable hike should help in attracting larger fields for these races.

Twenty trainers have been issued ‘A’ licences. Conspicuous by his absence will be last year’s monsoon champion Bharath Singh whose period of suspension spans the entire meet. Bharath’s sibling and former champion Vijay Singh is expected to put up a good show this season while Vijay’s brother-in-law Patrick Quinn, the current winter champion, may continue his successful streak with his bag of tricks. Quinn is certain to be boosted by his recent success in Bangalore with Ocean And Beyond and three-year-old Paras Mani.  

Some of the big names among trainers who may not have donned the champion’s mantle but may be worth following during the season are Arti Doctor, Javed Khan and HS Bath. Daniel David naturally commands respect as he is in charge of the famed goldie-brown stable which has the highest rated three-year-old at this centre – Captain Courageous.

The new face among the ‘A’ licence holders is Sabeel Ulla Shariff, who was till recently a registered assistant trainer to Jasbir Singh.

Well-known visiting trainers like Pesi Shroff and Darius Byramji may be seen during the monsoon classics and ‘Terms’ events which are listed below.

Calcutta Juvenile Sprint     –   August 17

Calcutta Monsoon Sprint   –   August 31

Calcutta Fillies Trial Stakes – September 7

Calcutta Colts Trial Stakes – September 7

The Stewards’ Cup             –   September 21

Calcutta Monsoon Derby   –   October 5

The Monsoon Cup              –   October 9

A total of 30 jockeys have been issued ‘A’ licenses, while five have been issued ‘B’ licenses. Also donning silks will be 13 apprentice jockeys. Prominent among the riders seen in action will be Christopher Alford, Shailesh Shinde and Imran Chisty. Outstation saddle artists Suraj Narredu, P S Chauhan and Neeraj Rawal will also be on view.

Live Streaming: The Stewards  of  RCTC are pleased to inform patrons and punters across the country that they will be streaming live coverage of Calcutta Races on the official website www.rctconline.com. This facility is expected to start from the first day of the Monsoon Meeting of 2013. However, unlike Mumbai and Bangalore races, this will be on a payment basis.

Another important addition to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club is the start of the RCTC Apprentice Jockey School. Applications have been received from around the country and the shortlisted candidates will undergo extensive training at the School based in the Race Course under the tutelage of former professional rider Philip Alford.

A further salient feature of the season is the change of rating system, as horses will be now be rated in the category 1-26, 21-46, 41-66, 61-86 and 81 & above. However, though the scale has been shifted by one point, riding weights will remain the same – between 50 and 62.5kg.

Norms for outstation runners

Stable availability permitting, local owners (residents of West Bengal) will be permitted to bring into station horses from other centres provided they fall within the parameters as given below.  Such horses must arrive in station not later than August 15, 2013.  

Trainers desirous of taking charge of such horses will have to ensure that they have a vacant stable i.e. a vacancy arising from the current number of stables presently occupied by horses under their charge or otherwise may replace one of their existing horses with the animal or animals. Stables falling vacant after August 15, 2013 will revert to the authority of the Club.

a)         3 year old horses (foaled in 2010) would be allotted stables subject to a minimum rating of 25 at the centre where they last ran.  Unraced 3 year olds will not be permitted.

b)         4 and 5 year old horses would be allotted stables subject to a minimum rating of 46 at the centre where they last ran.

c)         Six-year-old horses rated 80 & above at the centre where they last raced would be allotted stables.

d)      Seven-year-olds and over horses rated 80 and above at the centre where they last raced will be allotted stables provided they are entered in the below mentioned races, further they are allowed only one preparatory race for the entire Calcutta Monsoon Meeting 2013 and must leave station 15 days after their designated event/s :   

I)                 The Harry The Horse Cup

II)               The Calcutta Monsoon Sprint

III)             The Tangiers Cup

IV)              The Gumaan Cup

V)               The Alternator Cup

VI)              The Stewards’ Cup

VII)            The Monsoon Cup

e)          Horses eligible to participate during the Monsoon Meeting must arrive in station by   August 15, 2013 except those entered/left in for the above & below mentioned races:

I)           The Calcutta Fillies Trial Stakes

II)         The Calcutta Colts Trial Stakes

III)       The Calcutta Monsoon Derby

IV)       The Calcutta Juvenile Sprint

Horses entered for the above races must leave station 15 days after their designated event/s and will be allowed only one preparatory race for the entire season.