JOIN USAfter a brief hiatus, horse racing fans in the city will have a lot to cheer about as the Banglore Winter Meeting kick-starts at the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) from Friday.
Over the course of 30 race days, the meeting will witness over 100 jockeys participating in 240 races, the highlights of which will be the Bangalore Derby (Grade I) on January 26 and the return of the Indian Turf Invitational Races.
The Invitational Races, The Sprinters’ Cup (Grade I) and The Stayers’ Cup (Grade I) will be held on March 4, while The Indian Turf Invitational Cup (Grade I) and The Super Mile Cup (Grade I) will be conducted on March 5.
The total outlay for stakes, cups, incentives, subsidy and contributions will see a rise of over Rs 7.5 crore compared to last meeting and the total amount disbursed during the summer and winter meet is unprecendented.
Speaking at a press conference here, newly elected chairman N Harindra Shetty announced, “With stakes of nearly Rs 25 crore being paid out during the Bangalore Summer Meeting, a record breaking aggregate stakes of Rs 52.35 crore is expected to be paid out during 2016-17. This is perhaps the highest stake money ever offered by a club during a financial year in the history of Indian Racing.”
United Breweries have had a long standing association with the winter derby but Shetty said that they were making efforts to continue to have them as title sponsors. Once title sponsorship is finalised, the added money and incentives could increase.
In a move to make it easier for punters, BTC will have 630 operational betting terminals with 115 of them at off-course centres.
Important race days: Nov 4: Rajyotsava Trophy (Grade III); Nov 26: Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Grade III); Dec 2: Ashoka Chakra Cup; Dec 3: Bangalore Turf Club Trophy (Grade III); Dec 10: Bangalore 2000 Guineas (Grade II); Dec 31: Chief Minister’s Trophy; Jan 7: Bangalore Oaks (Grade I) and New Year Cup (Grade III); Jan 13: Karnataka Racehorse Owners’ Association Million; Jan 26: Bangalore Derby (Grade I) and Bangalore Race Course 154th Year Commemoration Trophy; Feb 3: Sprinters Trial Stakes (Grade III); Feb 10: Stayers Trial Stakes; Feb 11: Bangalore Winter Million (Grade III); Feb 25: Governor’s Trophy; Mar 4: Sprinters’ Cup (Grade I) and Stayers’ Cup (Grade I); Mar 5: Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade I) and Super Mile Cup (Grade I); Mar 18: Bangalore Juvenile Million (Grade III).