An advertisement in the newspaper inviting buyers to purchase scrap from the Delhi Race Club is a particularly grim piece of evidence of what has happened to Indian racing. The list is almost surreal: equipment that once formed the machinery of a functioning racecourse is now being offered for disposal. Starting gates, photo-finish equipment, generators, railings, track towers and other racing infrastructure have become scrap.

This is what the end of a racecourse looks like. The obvious question is: who let racing down?

Was it the authorities who refused to read the writing on the wall, or governments that looked at valuable racecourse land and saw real estate rather than a sporting institution? Perhaps both deserve a share of the blame.

And now Bangalore faces its own moment of truth.

On September 16, the Bangalore Turf Club is due to vote on whether to accept terms that may provide a way out of its present financial and administrative predicament, but could make the establishment of a viable new racecourse extraordinarily difficult. The alternative is to reject the terms, fight on and risk seeing racing gradually fade under the weight of its financial problems.

This is not merely a decision about land. It is a decision about the future of racing.

The financial strain on the sport is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Legitimate betting has lost ground to illegal betting channels, which have cornered a substantial part of the wagering business. A handful of dominant stables exercise enormous influence. Questions surrounding benami ownership continue to trouble the sport. Revenues have weakened while costs have continued to rise.

Yet money is only part of the problem. There is another malaise that may prove equally damaging: the inability of racing authorities to accept criticism.

Hold a mirror up to the authorities and their first instinct often seems to be to take offence at the person holding it. Instead of asking whether the criticism is right or wrong, the instinct is: We are right. How dare anyone question us?

At RWITC, a critic has been asked to appear before the committee and explain himself, with the possibility of action. At Bangalore Turf Club, a critic can find himself denied a press pass. Elsewhere, racing authorities appear to behave as though they can do what they please and remain unanswerable.

If the criticism is wrong, refute it. Produce the facts. Correct the record.

But trying to silence the critic does not solve the problem. It merely avoids confronting it.

A critic is not necessarily an enemy of racing. Sometimes he is the person pointing out the crack in the wall while everyone else is admiring the paint.

The administrators of racing need to understand that scrutiny is not an act of hostility. A sport fighting for survival cannot afford an administration that regards uncomfortable questions as insubordination.

Delhi's newspaper advertisement is more than an invitation to buy scrap. It is a warning.

Today it is Delhi's starting gates and photo-finish equipment being sold. Tomorrow, whose equipment will be advertised?

Bangalore's September 16 vote therefore carries significance far beyond Bangalore. The question is whether racing will fight intelligently for its future, or simply preside over its own decline.

The ventilator is already running. Racing should not wait until someone switches it off.