Indiarace.com - india's first & foremost horse racing portal

BANGALORE SUMMER SEASON 2014 COMMENCES ON SATURDAY

By Pearcey | 22 May 2014 | BANGALORE


-

The much awaited Bangalore Summer Season 2014 is finally set to commence on Saturday, 24th May 2014. Addressing a press meet on Thursday afternoon, V Harimohan Naidu, Chairman BTC, announced that the 24 day season will continue till the 8th August 2014. The stake money has been increased by almost 17% this season. Incentives for horses bred in Karnataka, and for owner’s who have an interest in five or less number of horses, will continue as before. Owners whose horses run at least twice in the season will be benefited by a number of credits to their accounts in the form of Fodder subsidy, Hay subsidy, Participation subsidy and Veterinary subsidy. The total outlay in terms of stakes and incentives will be around 21.00 Crores as compared to 17.44 Crores paid during the same period last year. In case there are division of races, the figure could go marginally higher. The Kingfisher Derby Bangalore (Grade I) will be the richest race of the season with Guaranteed Money being pegged at 2.50 Crores. With regards to other Classics like the Fillies and the Colts Championships, The Bangalore Turf Club is making efforts to source new sponsors. The Chairman also confirmed that a giant video screen would be in operation on all Bangalore race days. This is sure to please those present at the race course, as it gives them a brilliant view of the proceedings.

Another decision announced by the Chairman pertained to live webcasting of racing. He informed the press, that from the ensuing Bangalore Summer Season starting from 24th May 2014, the club will be stopping this facility. The BTC was one of the first couple of race clubs in India to use modern day technology and offer this facility to its patrons. Ardent racing fans, who were away from the city and still wanted to follow the sport, were able to view live racing action from anywhere in the world. It is difficult to understand the reasons behind such a decision. While race clubs internationally are making all out efforts to offer a top class product to their patrons, the BTC has decided to discontinue the live feed from its official website.

The track is now in better shape than what it was a week ago, and the decision to cancel the first two days of racing has proved to be a sensible one. The turf consultant engaged by the Club has used a new system of preparing the track, and according to him, the race grass is ready to withstand the pounding of hooves over the next three months. Scattered showers in the last few days have aided the cause, and it would be fair to agree with his assessment of the situation. A number of other measures put in place by the Managing Committee have been well received by the racing fraternity. As far as the horses are concerned, the Ozone Water Filters installed at the swimming pool will definitely lead to better levels of health and fitness. Visitors to the Club will have more space to move around and an increased number of betting terminals have been installed for easy accessibility. To achieve this objective, the second enclosure has been merged with the main enclosure, and the bookies ring in that area has been removed. The space available after this re-organization has enabled the authorities to install a large number of totalizator terminals. In the long run, this measure is likely to increase the betting turnover at the Club, and the patrons will hopefully witness an end to long serpentine queue’s at betting windows.

In order to augment the supervision of the sport,  BTC has announced the appointment of Australian racing professional Wayne Wood as Director Of Racing at this centre. He is set to commence his duties shortly. He is no stranger to Indian Racing, as he has already done a short stint at the RWITC in recent times. Wayne Wood brings a lot of experience to this job. Not only will he involve himself in the normal conduct of racing, but is also expected to have a close look at the existing “Rules OF Racing “prevailing at this Club. Keeping modern day developments in mind, some of these need to be modified. Considering his vast experience and knowledge, he will be given an additional responsibility of training budding stipes. His present contract will be for three years. He will also function as the Chief Stipendiary Steward during this period.

Racegoers can expect to witness intense action on the track. With more than seventy horses arriving from other centres , the competition is sure to be extremely keen. Three year olds based at Bangalore this year have shown modest form. Highly regarded challengers from Western India are set to dominate the summer Classics. Their performances over the winter months have confirmed that they are marginally better than their counterparts racing elsewhere in the country.  Amongst them, the one’s that stand out are Be Safe and Tiger Tops. Other’s like Godspeed, Maisha and The General are sure to score during the summer months. Local three year olds will be headed by Nuray, Scarlet Emperor, Merion, Fink, Supreme Dominator, On Time, Alexandra Mills, Connemara, Majestic Opinion, Remembrance Of You and Pure Allure. Hyderabad challengers Vijay Viraj and Vijay’s Casper have been doing some good work on the training track, and they too will make their presence felt during the Bangalore Summer Season.