Hi Everyone,

Of late, I have been coming across a lot of outburst from seasoned (?) punters in this column, accusing many jockeys - some of them very seniors - of accepting 'losing' mounts, thereby leaving the money-chasers (a new name for the rail birds!) in the lurch.

I feel it's a bit stuffy and severe to come down so heavily on our riders, most of whom just carry out the dictates of the connections. No jockey can do anything outside the homework he (or she...here I'm referring to Rupa) had been given.

With the owners pumping in crores of rupees in buying horses and maintaining the stable, we - the money-chasers - should not look for any leniency from their side. Why to blame the trainers when a favourite goes off the board? Maybe, there are pre-plans to 'pull' a horse, as alleged by many of us many times, but in which way that matters to the stable, who always evolve long-term strategies.

Let me refer to one of the popular HT writers and a well-known punter, Ayyarnet, who has accused Trevor for accepting to ride 'Autocratic' and losing. That the animal was made the favourite is not Trevor's fault. Isn't it? I remember the great Aslam Khader coming a cropper on many odds-on favourites, and losing to lesser-known jockeys, including the likes of S Rajesh and then apprentice K P G Appu without reason for justification. What to do about it?

Here, I hold another regular writer and a calculated (not calculative!) punter, Raghavan, who time and again uses this platform to appeal to fellow punters not to play heavily and to bet on each and every race. Who is listening?
Mysuru or Kolkata, any race course can prove beneficial or turn out to be a waterloo if we fail to make our own adjustments. No one guarantees ready payment when we walk into the race-course. In fact, it's the other way around and you take it for granted before entering the course that you're going to return with holes in your pockets so that you've alternative arrangements to meet your immediate financial needs.

We are seeing hundreds of jockeys riding in hundreds of race-courses all over the world, and tell me how many of them ride for the punters? They all work for their employers (here stable owners). Even Aslam Khader never rode to satisfy punters. It was a different story that he kept winning on many horses (Ayyarnet Sir, he never got or picked 'winning' mounts) with a better success rate.

There is nothing in racing called a 'winning' mount. Even the biggest of owners or trainers can't say before their horse crosses the winning post that they will win the race. Now, if you put all these pieces together, do you understand why bookies are always comfortably placed than us? Those who fail to get the answer, it's time to quit racing (like I myself did in 2013 although I managed to find the answer a year later watching races from the comforts of my office and home and leading a happy life without compromising on my interest in racing purely as a sport)