The Bangalore Winter Meeting 2009-10, covering 34 race days, is scheduled to commence on Friday (Nov. 6). It will go on till April 2, 2010. Racing will be held mainly on Fridays and Saturdays. Stakes for the fourth, fifth and sixth placed horses will be paid, only if there are at least 8, 9 and 10 acceptors, respectively.
Mr. Vivek G. Ubhayakar (Chairman & Senior Steward) said “the club would be paying stakes, incentives and subsidy of nearly Rs. 14 crores during the ensuing meeting. A maximum of eight races would be conducted on all race days except the days when there is only one race day during the week and classic race days and the Juvenile Million day, when a maximum of nine races would be permitted”.
The following races will be sponsored: Fernhill’s Palace Bangalore 1000 Guineas, Harvins Bangalore 2000 Guineas, Kelachandra New Millennium Cup, Karnataka Racehorse Owners Association Trophy, Ted Fordyce Cup, Poonawalla Bangalore Derby, D.P.Sharma Memorial Sprinters Trial Stakes, P. Dayanand Pai & P. Satish Pai Bangalore Winter Million and Heeroji Lad Bangalore Juvenile Million.
Eighty Jockeys and 40 ‘A’ license trainers are expected to take part during the season. Sixteen and six bookmakers are expected to operate in the first and second enclosures, respectively. Gross deduction on Win, Place and Second Horse Pools would be at 8.50 per cent. 490 betting terminals will be in operation, including betting terminals at off-course betting centres located outside the racecourse.
Jockeys will continue to be subjected to a breath analyzer test on every race day for detecting the presence of alcohol.
Regarding the issue of shifting the race club, Mr. Ubhayakar said that “BTC’s plea for a stay order on the government’s directive to shift the course, is still pending before the High Court and the next hearing on the case, has been posted to second week of December” and as such, he did not wish to make any further comments.
Important dates: Fernhill’s Palace Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Nov. 28), Harvins Bangalore 2000 Guineas (Dec. 12), Bangalore Oaks (Jan. 2), Poonawalla Bangalore Derby (Jan. 26), P. Dayanand Pai & P. Satish Pai Bangalore Winter Million (Feb. 20), Heeroji Lad Bangalore Juvenile Million (March 27).
