All bets are off, say punters protesting loss by favourite
The Mahalaxmi Race Course was witness to ugly scenes once again after the defeat of a favourite horse in the penultimate race on Sunday had irate punters staging a protest. Punters who gathered opposite the paddock shortly crowd favourite Congressional lost by a narrow margin to Rule Downunder, who was second in demand in the betting ring. Punters continued their agitation even after club authorities gave the race their all-clear signal.
The crowd blocked the path and refused to allow horses participating in the last race to pass through, forcing the horses to take an alternate route via the saddling enclosure. When they came to know of this, the incensed punters immediately rushed towards the racetrack and continued with their protest. Sensing that the protesters were in no mood to back down, turf club authorities cancelled the last race.
The punters, however, were relentless and a large crowd then stormed the weighingroom where all the officials and committee members assemble, and demanded that jockey A Sandesh be suspended with immediate effect.
Turf club authorities had called in the police by then, and an additional contingent which arrived had to use mild force to evict protesters from the weighing-room. The police also managed to clear the paddock of protesting punters.
According to Abubakr Sheikh, a regular at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, there have been several suspected instances of jockeys ‘hooking’ or intentionally losing races while riding favourite horses. “The jockeys keep getting away with this, but the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) is yet to take deterrent action,” Sheikh said.
RWITC's senior stipendiary steward, Pradyumna Singh, said, “The stewards of the club have directed us to investigate Sandesh’s riding and submit a report at the earliest. Sandesh will not be allowed to ride from Thursday onwards till the inquiry is over.”
Later in the evening, Sandesh reported to stewards that he had received a threat call from an unidentified person.The stewards have directed Sandesh to lodge an FIR with Tardeo Police Station. Speaking to Mirror, Sandesh denied any wrongdoing astride Congressional, saying he had tried his best to win.
Punters said Sandesh is a jockey popular at all major racing centres in the country including Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. The jockey, suspended following Sunday’s protests, is the reigning champion in Mumbai and Pune and also emerged on top at the Bangalore Derby this season.
Sources said though Sandesh had been pulled up on a couple of occasions in Pune on suspicion of losing a race while riding a favourite horse, has a clean career record otherwise.
The crowd blocked the path and refused to allow horses participating in the last race to pass through, forcing the horses to take an alternate route via the saddling enclosure. When they came to know of this, the incensed punters immediately rushed towards the racetrack and continued with their protest. Sensing that the protesters were in no mood to back down, turf club authorities cancelled the last race.
The punters, however, were relentless and a large crowd then stormed the weighingroom where all the officials and committee members assemble, and demanded that jockey A Sandesh be suspended with immediate effect.
More importantly, they wanted the race to be declared null and void and all bets to be refunded. Meanwhile, a small punters’ delegation met the stewards to press their demands, and around 90 minutes later, the stewards decided to suspend Sandesh pending inquiry but didn’t agree to the other demands including refunds of bets.
Turf club authorities had called in the police by then, and an additional contingent which arrived had to use mild force to evict protesters from the weighing-room. The police also managed to clear the paddock of protesting punters.
According to Abubakr Sheikh, a regular at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, there have been several suspected instances of jockeys ‘hooking’ or intentionally losing races while riding favourite horses. “The jockeys keep getting away with this, but the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) is yet to take deterrent action,” Sheikh said.
RWITC's senior stipendiary steward, Pradyumna Singh, said, “The stewards of the club have directed us to investigate Sandesh’s riding and submit a report at the earliest. Sandesh will not be allowed to ride from Thursday onwards till the inquiry is over.”
Later in the evening, Sandesh reported to stewards that he had received a threat call from an unidentified person.The stewards have directed Sandesh to lodge an FIR with Tardeo Police Station. Speaking to Mirror, Sandesh denied any wrongdoing astride Congressional, saying he had tried his best to win.
Punters said Sandesh is a jockey popular at all major racing centres in the country including Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. The jockey, suspended following Sunday’s protests, is the reigning champion in Mumbai and Pune and also emerged on top at the Bangalore Derby this season.
Sources said though Sandesh had been pulled up on a couple of occasions in Pune on suspicion of losing a race while riding a favourite horse, has a clean career record otherwise.
