One of the more fascinating gems to emerge from the Invitation Cup carnival held at Mahalakshmi Racecourse in March this year was the news that the Madras Race Club would host the next renewal of this prestigious event, along with the supporting feature races. It may be recalled that the MRC had backed out of holding these races five years ago, in 2010, when it was their turn in the sequence adopted by the Turf Authorities of India.

At Mahalakshmi Racecourse, this writer asked the genial Secretary of the MRC, Itath Aman Khan, whether the carnival would in fact be held at Chennai, to which he appropriately replied "Inshallah". Recently there were rumours that there had been second thoughts on the issue. However, reliable sources aver that no such rethink has taken place and that the carnival is very much on.

For the sake of turf patrons in that port city one hopes the event will in fact be held there, for it has been eleven long years since the long-suffering racing public of the Southern metropolis last saw a horse that essayed 2400 m. in less than 2 minutes and 40 seconds (International Star required 3:07.38 to huff and puff her way to honours in the South India Derby of 2006, although that was a vast improvement on the 3:21.68 she took over the identical distance in the South India Oaks a mere 10 days earlier!).

Back in 2005, Southern Regent needed just 2:28.01 on the dustbowl that masqueraded as a turf track to cover the Classic trip. Hopefully, the Turf Authorities of India will use the "authority" implied in their middle name to inspect the facilities well in advance of March 2016 to ensure that a thick mat of greensward -- such as this writer has seen at Guindy during the era of the late Mr. R.C. Chaube -- is present to cushion the flailing hooves of the Thoroughbreds. The noble steeds, who ask nothing from us, deserve to be spared the trauma of galloping at full tilt on rock-hard terrain. Anyone who thinks otherwise, or feels that half-measures will suffice, is not a horse lover.

There was a time in decades gone by when racegoers from outstation enjoyed the annual pilgrimage to Guindy at Pongal time early each year. Apart from the prospect of viewing high class runners in the South India Derby, there was the opportunity to attend the Madras Auction Sales. All those halcyon days have receded into the mists of history. They have been replaced by the incessant drumming of an incredible run of success for an owner-trainer partnership, one that seems to fly in the face of the fact that racing is a competitive sport.

Excellence in sport is common. But not even the greatest champion can win everything. Neither did Michael Schumacher win every F1 race he competed in, nor did Sachin Tendulkar hit a century in every innings that he occupied the crease. There were many times they lost or performed poorly. Even the legendary Man O'War got beat by the appropriately-named Upset, the invincible Secretariat got overturned by the little-known Onion.

Yet only the "Gold, Brown belt" silks have adorned the winner of each of the last 100 so-called "Classic" winners under MRC Rules. And every one of them has been trained by a schooler with a surname indicating Irish heritage – Foley. This is a feat which one actually hailing from the Emerald Isle, Aidan O'Brien, can only dream of, despite being backed by Coolmore, perhaps the shrewdest outfit in the Thoroughbred business anywhere in the world. Even though the MRC disburses outstanding levels of stake money in its Pattern Races, no out-station trainer appears inclined to send runners across to race in them….

Here are some interesting facts: one finds that Robert Foley alone has won about 7,000 of the 14,000+ races run at Madras and Ooty since 1^st November 1988. During the time B. Prakash rode for the team, he invariably had mounts in 5 races on each race day on which he was engaged;  these also happened to be the first five races on the card; and he almost always won them all. From the time he joined full time, commencing with the Madras Racing Season of 2002/03, till he signed off in 2009/10, Prakash won an incredible 678 races from 687 mounts at Chennai, a strike-rate of 98.7%. Diva Dancer let the side down on 15^th November 2006 by running second – but that was the last setback Prakash faced at Guindy. Until he ceased his association with Foley on a winning note astride Star Flight on 22^nd February 2010, he was undefeated at Madras in 347 consecutive races!

A study of the affairs of the MRC shows that it appeared to lose its popularity both with the racing public and with horsemen from around the late 'nineties. Nowadays, few of its fellow turf authorities care to relay its races and conduct betting operations; prominent websites on the Indian Turf do not carry its results; tote turnover on its live races compares very unfavourably with other centres; there is no barometer to measure the merit of locally-trained runners since they do not make forays to other centres (and vice versa), and so on.

Whatever be the reasons, the public perception of the MRC and its reputation have plummeted during the past two decades. The programming has not helped -- seventeen consecutive 1200 m. races to start the current Udhagamandalam meeting do not make for interesting racing! The turnover and attendance figures for live racing are audited and it is no secret that both have declined substantially in real terms since the heyday of the South India turf. And it is for those in charge of the MRC to do some soul-searching to determine the solutions (no doubt advice from knowledgeable well-wishers would be readily available).

It's always worth keeping in mind the words of Donald Lesh, compiler of the Classform Annual, who said "in a sport founded on the simple premise that merit is gained in the most rigorous competition, it is ironic that there are those who strive for specious honours."

Some facets of MRC functioning that differ from other turf authorities include the fact that:

• the total number of entries in any "Classic" in the last few years has never exceeded a dozen, if that – the norm is 6 or 8 (in contrast, last year's Kingfisher Bangalore Derby had 100 entries)
• sponsors are allowed to contribute as little as 5.2% of added money (as in the Chennai Bookmakers South India St. Leger on 24^th February 2015, where the added money of Rs.1,00,00,000 consisted of Rs.5,20,000 from the sponsors and Rs.94,80,000 from the club's racing fund)
• as far as one knows, samples are not sent to reputed international laboratories for dope testing
• one cannot readily find an instance of champion trainer Robert Foley having a runner in the last race of the card these last few years
• in its latest prospectus, the club has published an e-mail address that "bounces", a fax number that is not answered, and a "telegraphic address" although telegrams were discontinued in the whole country from July 2013!

As reported on this website, (http://www.indiarace.com/FullReview.aspx?ReviewId=3925), a recent development of note was the filing of a writ petition last December by one S. Anavarathan, described as a member of the MRC and an advocate, in the Madras High Court alleging gross irregularities. Express India News Service reported on February 21^st this year that the petition had been admitted. One wonders if this would have any impact on the holding of the Invitation Cup next March?

In the light of these concerns, it is pertinent to examine the legal situation under which racing is conducted. Officially, the Government of Tamil Nadu grants a licence to race to the Madras Race Club. The document is not readily available in the public realm. One presumes that it is under the terms and conditions of this licence that the Government of Tamil Nadu has nominated no less than four of its representatives to sit on the Committee of Management of the MRC.

The current distinguished nominees are Mr. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, I.A.S. (listed on the Tamil Nadu Government website as Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department), (2) Mr. MD. Nasimuddin, I.A.S. (Principal Secretary, Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department), (3) Mr. Apurva Varma, I.A.S. (Principal Secretary, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department) and (4) Mr. S.K. Prabakar, I.A.S. (Principal Secretary, Commercial Taxes and Registration Department).

According to the published prospectus of the MRC, the same four gentlemen are also Stewards of the Madras Races 2014/2015 and hence directly responsible for the conduct of racing at that centre. It would be interesting to know how much input they have hitherto provided in the running of affairs at the Madras Race Club. Certainly, one hopes that whatever their other commitments, at least in March 2016 they will take some time off from their other duties to attend the Invitation Cup carnival at Guindy and help to make the occasion a truly memorable one.

After all, as the Supreme Court of India is reported to have said in Dr. K.R. Lakshmanan vs. State of Tamil Nadu (1997) 223 ITR 601 (SC) – long live racing!