Evening racing, dawn of a new era for RWITC - By Vivek Jain I TOI
Posted on - 17 Apr 2015
Evening racing, dawn of a new era for RWITC
By Vivek Jain
TOI
Night racing, or more appropriately evening racing on this weekend, thought impossible for long, is potentially the dawn of a new era for the RWITC.
It was exactly ten years ago that Dr Vijay Mallya, who was bidding to become Chairman of the Club, had made this his election plank. The proposal however fell through in spite of The UB Group's sponsorship as it was linked to unfettered rights to be given to the liquor giant for sale of its products and other F&B.
A decade has gone by and the introduction of what is seen to be a path breaking initiative has been on the back burner. Efforts by the newly formed Working Group by conducting a trial on Saturday and Sunday to have three races each between 7 to 8pm will test the technical feasibility as a starting point for its long term future.
Night Racing has been hugely popular in Hong Kong and Singapore. Our Club hence has pulled off another coup by this experiment.
The sharp decline in attendance this season and the objective to draw a younger audience makes night racing the magic potion that could well catapult the sport into a new stratosphere. Unlike the Far East, where betting is the main draw and convenience of time makes this tick, in India it will have to be backed with some serious tamasha if it is to sustain over a period of time. Hence, the opening day has a host of food and liquor, live music and I believe even a laser show and fireworks are planned a virtual big bang start! Comparison with the blazing success of The Indian Premier League is both odious and relevant. It's important that the dream of night racing is not seen as a one off wonder. The integrity of the sport and its professional stewarding will count for a lot. Unless the public has confidence that the sport is conducted in a fair manner, night racing may well be seen as a gimmicky effort which will fade away once the initial euphoria is over.
One can only hope that this huge leap that has been bravely taken proves to be a winner. Capital and running costs are a concern yes, and will have to be addressed, but when there is a will, a way can be found to make this sustainable with new ideas and innovation. If the product is good sponsorship support is there for the asking.
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