The Karnataka Trainers Association which was backed by Karnataka Racehorse Owners Association and by Jockeys Association of India disrupted last week’s racing by not putting entries. The result was a loss of Rs 1 crores as stake money to owners besides commission to trainers and jockeys. The question that is being asked is whether the trainers had strong reasons to go on strike? Were they justified in disrupting races to their own detriment?

The answer is an emphatic no going by the list of demands given to Bangalore Turf Club for immediate redress by the three bodies concerned. The demands are abstract and they are something that cannot be implemented overnight. They are points that need to be negotiated over a long period of time as it involves other turf clubs in India and also Turf Authorities of India which does not have the power to enforce its writ on all turf clubs. Each turf club follows its own rules of racing which are more or less common but its implementation had differed from club to club. The strike as such was not a solution to address the problems that have been listed.

The first demand itself is self-explanatory. The associations have demanded that the club undertake a comprehensive exercise in a time bound manner to reframe the Rules of Racing and update the Calendar Notification so as to ensure that the entire procedure relating to preliminary enquiry, Stewards enquiry and enquiries before the Board of Appeal meet the Principles of natural justice. If even if one were to find the present rules inadequate, disrupting two days of racing was not going to bring the solution in a few days since the whole process as has been said by the associations is time bound!

The second demand pertains the exclusive discretion to declare a jockey vests with the concerned owner and trainer and the said discretion should not be attempted to be disturbed by the racing officials. This right has always been there and it has not been interfered. Trainers have been punished when they have said that the jockeys that they have declared are incompetent and their ability is restricted. The trainers have a responsibility for the performance of a horse and are held accountable even if the jockey messes up the race. If the complicity of the trainer is established in the poor performance of a trainer due to an incompetent jockey, then the professional concerned also gets pulled up. The responsibility is not just that of the jockey but also that of the trainer under whose instructions the jockey rides. Disregarding the instructions of a trainer by the jockey has been held against the latter. The jockeys ride are per the instruction of the trainer whose commands the jockey is expected to execute. As such the responsibility is joint and cannot be isolated unless of course the jockey has totally disregarded the accepted practices.

The punishment for any particular offence should be uniform under all circumstances, the associations have said. Nobody has any dispute about this. However, the associations have not pointed out the instances where such things have happened and hence their demand is vague.

The associations have demanded reframing of Rules of Racing should be completed in 60 days so that racing in winter season is conducted under revised rules of racing with the updated Calendar Notification as amended. The Bangalore Turf Club has been trying to implement norms for professionals but at the time of execution it has been stopped and the associations themselves have asked for its postponement. Changing Rules of Racing which have stood the test of time and amending them is a lengthy process and that possibly could not be cited as the reason for the strike which disrupted racing.

The associations have also demanded that professionals who are disqualified should be automatically re-licensed at the end of the suspension period. Since the clubs themselves quantify the suspension period, implementing this should not be a problem. In the case of Gregory Sandhu who was suspended for three years, the turf club did not renew his license for seven years but strangely nobody took up his case. The associations have been selective in taking up the cause of aggrieved professionals. Only those who are only loyal to the powers that be are taken care of.

Going by the list of demands it is clear that these are problems cannot be addressed overnight. As the associations themselves have pointed out, it should be done in time bound manner. As such one fails to understand why racing was disrupted.

In the meanwhile, trainer Dominic is reported to have authored a letter to Bangalore Turf Club seeking action against me for being critical of them in my articles and for calling the club a toothless tiger. There can be nothing more hilarious than this. Perhaps Dominic and his supporters cannot be credited with any degree of intelligence. Being the Secretary of Karnataka Trainers Association and responsible for the disruption of racing and bringing a bad name to the sport, the Stewards are well within their powers to take stringent action on him. Yes, BTC has always proved to be toothless tiger but this time, the club has shown strong resolution to put an end to these wild cat strikes. They can be called real tigers when the club takes strong action on professionals licensed by them bringing disrepute to the game.

There was an item in indiarace.com that President of Karnataka Trainers Association Puttanna abused and threatened me. And there was a further clarification that Puttanna has denied that he had abused me. It was a totally irresponsible news which could have had wider ramifications if it had come in main stream media as I have part of it for well over three decades.