Trainers from Calcutta and Bombay summer their horses here, and young imported thoroughbreds relish the lush pastures and generally make good progress in their preparation." The season saw 362 horses contesting for 91 races which in those days was an achievement of sorts. In what the Review called, "the outstanding feature of the season." a horse bred in Pakistan but classified as an Indian-Bred, won 5 races in a row Named Pocket Apollo. He won the Apollo Cup and RWITC Cup while picking up Rs. 19,500 in stake money. Fellexia( Rockfel-Lexia), a four-year old English Filly won the season's main event- the Class 111 Maharaja of Mysore's Gold Cup She took 2 minutes and 35 seconds to win a race being run over 1 and half miles for the first time. The Bangalore racecourse nestles amidst 85 acres of greenery in the heart of the city. It presents a truly beautiful sight hroughout the year. Bangalore boosts not only of the best weather but also the best professionals as well. Starting as a Summer racing center, racing has today grown enormously, with about 65 days programmed over 2 seasons, Summer and Winter spread over 8 months in Bangalore. This is apart from the 45 days of racing at Mysore, which is conducted by the Mysore Race Club, but under the rules of the BTC. Bangalore Race Track is a challenging one. It is an oval shaped, right-handed course measuring approximately 1950m with 4 sharp curves and pronounced gradients. The downhill backstretch drops 13.10m (43 feet) from 1800m to 800m and climbs 11.58m (38 feet) from the point to the winning post, with a further rise of 1.5m (five feet) from the winning post to the 1800m marker. This demanding and testing race track, with its gradients, bends and a distinct short straight, places a premium both on the speed and the endurance of the horses and the skill and experience of the jockeys. A win on the racetrack is therefore a significant achievement. If the Bangalore Race Course is considered as one of the best in the country for the challenge it poses both to the horse and to the riders, the credit should go to the successive administrators who have wisely made use of the natural and undulating contours of the land. The Bangalore Race Course is probably the only one on the world where a limited space of barely 85 acres has been so comprehensively utilised to provide facilities such as stabling for over 1000 horses, three training tracks, an equine swimming pool, training schools, walking rings, a veterinary hospital and even an amateur riding school. Bangalore Turf Club played a crucial role in the starting of off-course betting in association with Royal Western India Turf Club in 1975, which gave a new lease of life to the sport. At that stage, the clubs faced a great financial strain. But with the conduct of off-course betting which is now an all India affair, a degree of financial stability has been ensured so much so that off-course betting is now a lifeline of all Turf Clubs of India. Another successful venture of the BTC has been the operation of the combined Jackpot Pool along with the other Turf Authorities. Initially, many were skeptical about the success. BTC started the joined jackpot pool in association with Madras Racing Undertaking and soon it was an unqualified success. RWITC and RCTC have since joined the pool and one of the biggest attractions for the race-goers has been this combined jackpot. Bangalore has also taken the lead in reducing the gross deductions on win, place and second horse pools in just 2.5 per cent, thereby making the totalizator pools offer more competitive odds than the book markers. The gross deductions on these pools is the lowest in the country.
Bangalore Turf Club Ltd. P.O. Box. No.5038, Race Course Road, Bangalore - 560001. Phone: 22262391-2-3-5, 22266421 / 22260942 / 22253969. Fax: 080-22256995. Email: secbtc@yahoo.com Best viewed with Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or higher version in 1024x768 True Color Resolution |