Splendid show by BTC over the Invitation Cup Weekend - By Vivek Jain
Posted on - 07 Mar 2017
Splendid show by BTC over the Invitation Cup Weekend
- By Vivek Jain
The Invitation Cup Weekend is the one occasion in the year (the Indian Derby weekend probably being the other) where the racing fraternity descends in droves to partake in the racing action and a host of festivities.
Mumbai had a smashing time, with two of its horses Adam and Temerity coming up trumps in the Sprinters’ and Invitation Cup, and Serjeant at Arms is owned by Mumbai based owners. Pesi Shroff won two of the four Invitational races, and local jockey Neeraj Rawal capped a rousing season by winning the piece de resistance.
The Racing Awards Ceremony on Saturday was spectacular, crisply hosted by the inimitable Cyrus Madan. The backdrop of the Bangalore Palace was stunning, and the feast of entertainment led by the Terence Lewis Dance Company, was outstanding, topped off by an amazing fireworks show and a feast inside the Palace. Bollywood star, Chitrangada Singh , who co hosted the show, was the glamour quotient of the night. The Champions were honoured by the various Turf Authorities Chairmen, with points on a formula established by TAI. BTC also presented achievement awards to several associated with the sport in Bangalore.
The Chairman’s meeting on Monday and the joint meeting of the various Turf Authorities was very well attended with a range of issues covering GST, a National Tote, declaration of racing as a sport, establishing a permanent secretariat for the TAI, royalty sharing between Clubs, representations from jockeys’ and trainers and a presentation by Sri Lankan racing dominating the proceedings which lasted for over three hours. A decision was taken to form various Core Committees and the Chairmanship of the TAI goes to Mr Sudipto Sarkar, the Chairman of RCTC where the next Invitation will be hosted in 2018.
The star show however was the unbelievable totalisator collections over the two days, clocking over 27 crore, which proved yet again the necessity of a rational tax structure and the robust tote in Bangalore. It is gathered over 40,000 streamed into the Club over the two days, stamping the popularity of the sport and enviable investment figures for every other Turf Authority present to wonder how it can be matched at their centres.
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