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Back to listsWhy Not We Have The Last Horse Pool ?
By Mad Max | 06-Jul-2017
By Ikram Khan
Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror 6th July 2017.
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The first week after GST came into play, the Bangalore Turf Club did pretty well. No significant drop in tote collections. But the poor punters lost out big. Dividends paid out at the tote were much below what was offered by the many illegal bookmakers operating inside and outside the BTC premises. End result: it was the illegal bookies who gained most. This will only result in more illegal bookies surfacing and slowly eating into the big Bangalore Tote Pie in the weeks ahead.
It is understandable that with 28 percent GST on betting, the race clubs will find it hard to curb the illegal menace. They now need to think out of the box and evolve ideas to keep their trusted investors with them, rather than going only by mathematical calculations. On the suggestion of one wise head among the nine big heads, they began the 'the third horse' pool which many knowledgeable consider a joke. Fourth horse pool may well follow and why not the last horse pool? Don't be surprised if this is also introduced. The moment a couple of punters buys a few tickets for fun, the nine wise men and the administrative head will tell you that it is a big success.
Most tote punters did not mind losing out marginally, but now with the new tax structure, the difference is big and it will only get bigger. The tote at this centre was so strong that BTC happily shunted out the bookies. Now the bookies are back. They have already started to cut into the pie and with the men and machinery at their command they in time to come will gobble it all up.
All the other premier centres, in their bid to soften the GST blow, have reached out to sponsors, promoters and even bookmakers convincing them that they need to now pay increased stall fees. The sponsors also have been told that they too need to dig deep into their pockets to get the desired mileage. But BTC bosses will have nothing of it. This is one club which has not cultivated big brand sponsors. This is one club which has no marketing or sport promotion team. And this is the one and only club in India which has shunted the bookmakers out. Yet, they manage to show a healthy balance sheet. May be that's because they have some good financial brains. No, they simply dont have a Jaitley in their ranks. It is the king tote which has helped win many a battle.
What was really surprising from the Bengaluru and Mysuru point of view was that though they were aware that they would be high big by GST, they did precious little to look at new avenues to generate money. They simply went about hoping that a couple of representations made to the members of the GST governing Council would help attain the desired results. This did not happen, and with the ball back in the court they really don't know how to play a different stroke.
It really appears a bad scene and it will get worse, the moment cost cutting measures come into play. That is when the horse owner will start to think on the big investments he has made at this centres. And before he looks out in search of greener pastures BTC and MRC need to play it smart and stop the horse from bolting out of the stable door.
Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror 6th July 2017.
------------------------------
The first week after GST came into play, the Bangalore Turf Club did pretty well. No significant drop in tote collections. But the poor punters lost out big. Dividends paid out at the tote were much below what was offered by the many illegal bookmakers operating inside and outside the BTC premises. End result: it was the illegal bookies who gained most. This will only result in more illegal bookies surfacing and slowly eating into the big Bangalore Tote Pie in the weeks ahead.
It is understandable that with 28 percent GST on betting, the race clubs will find it hard to curb the illegal menace. They now need to think out of the box and evolve ideas to keep their trusted investors with them, rather than going only by mathematical calculations. On the suggestion of one wise head among the nine big heads, they began the 'the third horse' pool which many knowledgeable consider a joke. Fourth horse pool may well follow and why not the last horse pool? Don't be surprised if this is also introduced. The moment a couple of punters buys a few tickets for fun, the nine wise men and the administrative head will tell you that it is a big success.
Most tote punters did not mind losing out marginally, but now with the new tax structure, the difference is big and it will only get bigger. The tote at this centre was so strong that BTC happily shunted out the bookies. Now the bookies are back. They have already started to cut into the pie and with the men and machinery at their command they in time to come will gobble it all up.
All the other premier centres, in their bid to soften the GST blow, have reached out to sponsors, promoters and even bookmakers convincing them that they need to now pay increased stall fees. The sponsors also have been told that they too need to dig deep into their pockets to get the desired mileage. But BTC bosses will have nothing of it. This is one club which has not cultivated big brand sponsors. This is one club which has no marketing or sport promotion team. And this is the one and only club in India which has shunted the bookmakers out. Yet, they manage to show a healthy balance sheet. May be that's because they have some good financial brains. No, they simply dont have a Jaitley in their ranks. It is the king tote which has helped win many a battle.
What was really surprising from the Bengaluru and Mysuru point of view was that though they were aware that they would be high big by GST, they did precious little to look at new avenues to generate money. They simply went about hoping that a couple of representations made to the members of the GST governing Council would help attain the desired results. This did not happen, and with the ball back in the court they really don't know how to play a different stroke.
It really appears a bad scene and it will get worse, the moment cost cutting measures come into play. That is when the horse owner will start to think on the big investments he has made at this centres. And before he looks out in search of greener pastures BTC and MRC need to play it smart and stop the horse from bolting out of the stable door.