The good news is that the horses at the Bangalore Turf Club campus are free from Glanders, bar a solitary horse under the care of trainer Inayathulla. The all negative result obtained from National Research Centre On Equines (NRCE) has brought the smile back on the faces of the owners and trainers at this premier centre and the administrators of the game are relieved that the horses stationed at BTC are now free from Glanders.

BTC sent out 657 samples for the final three cycle mandatory test on January 28, and to the delight of the racing fraternity, all tested negative for the dreaded zoonotic disease. After the second test, the club was asked to send repeat swab samples of four horses including a horse from Bangalore Amateur Riding Institute (BARI) and three of the four were declared negative, while NRCE again directed the club to send a Paired serum sample and nasal swabs (in triplicate) of the Inayathullah ward, the lone horse kept in isolation in the BTC campus. The final sample of the only suspected case will be sent on Feb 11 and if he clears the test, BTC it is needless to mention will push the state government to clear the club, free from glanders, and provide the required permission to resume racing at this centre. The Karnataka government next will need to alert and gain a denotification certificate from NRCE before the thunder of the hooves will start to resonate at this premier centre. 

Taking a look from the positive side, it appears all will fall in place by the end of this month and that effectively means that horses can start to race from the first week of March. But the catch here is that work on one portion of the track near the mile marker is in progress and Kiran, the man in-charge, has informed the mandarins of the club that the track will only be ready by March 10. Kiran, it is learnt has also pointed out that for the first three weeks, it will be wise to have one-day racing, providing the track, time to bind and settle for the full summer season ahead. Well in this scenario a maximum of 3-4 meeting are only possible in March before BTC calls time in April and starts the summer season early in the first week of May. Most trainers and owners are putting their hands up for a start in March and it is no secret that a good number of trainers have started to give fast work to their horses in the hope that racing will be back on track in  March. 

Racing Committee chairman, Manjunath Ramesh disclosed that it's a tough call knowing that the work on track is still not complete and that the track will only be ready in the second week of March. "Taking into account that you can only conduct 2-3 meeting in March, it will only be sensible to skip March and start the summer season from the second week of April and have an extended run till the first week of August," said former chairman Manjunath Ramesh adding that hurry could end up in a big worry. "The idea is too give the track and horses at this centre, the time and space to start fit and fine," said Ramesh pointing out that the April option appears best in this situation. 

Ramesh disclosed that the management committee, spearheaded by BTC Chairman Shiv Shankar will initiate dialogue with the trainers and office bearers of the Karnataka Racehorse Owners' Association in a couple days to ascertain the situation and understand the ground reality before deciding on the date of resumption.
 
"We need to understand from the trainers, how quickly they can get the horses under their care, fit enough to race. And we also need to get a clear go ahead from Kiran, the man heading the repair work at the track," said BTC steward Arvind Katarki in a telephonic chat after BTC obtained the final test results. Arvind revealed that even if it's 2-3 meeting, a start in March will send out the signal that BTC is back in business and that will provide the confidence the racing fraternity needs at this uncertain juncture.

Another issue which is making a noise even before the resumption of racing is that the owners and trainers want the club to hold the Colts Trial Stakes and the Winter Derby in March before the summer season. The trainers and owners are of the view that since the sponsor, Zavaray Poonawalla have already committed to sponsor all winter and summer classics, the two remaining classics can be held in March. "This is just not possible taking into account that a good three-week gap is required after Colts Classics before the Derby and with the track only ready to race in the second week of March it is highly unlikely," said a knowledgeable old hat of the game.

Well if you cut the clatter and stick to the news. The good news is that BTC is free from Glanders and racing will soon commence at this centre.