MAHINDAR SINGH RATHORE

 WHEN PERSONAL CONDUCT BRINGS THE SPORT INTO DISREPUTE Reports emerging from Kolkata’s racing circuit regarding an alleged altercation involving a licensed trainer have sent shockwaves through the fraternity. If even a fraction of what is being discussed in racing corridors is true, the episode represents a deeply disturbing breach of professional ethics and a serious embarrassment to Indian horse racing. Horse racing is not merely a sport; it is an industry built on trust, integrity and public confidence. Trainers are custodians of owners’ investments, role models for young professionals, and representatives of the turf in the public eye. Any allegation of financial exploitation, misuse of borrowed funds for betting, or personal betrayal, if proven, strikes at the very foundation of that trust. Even more alarming is the suggestion that a private dispute spilled into a public racing environment, allegedly culminating in a confrontation at the stables. Racing premises are places of ...

OWNERS IN THE STEWARDS’ BOX: THE ORIGINAL SIN OF INDIAN HORSE RACING Horse racing does not get corrupted gradually. It gets corrupted instantly —the very moment a racehorse owner is allowed to sit as a Stand Member, Club Member, or worse, a Sitting Steward. This is not a grey area. This is not a “perception problem.” This is a structural conflict of interest , and it strikes at the heart of sporting integrity. You cannot be player and referee in the same arena. Yet Indian horse racing continues to pretend that this basic principle of governance does not apply to it. THE FATAL CONFLICT A racehorse owner’s interests are simple and absolute: Their horses Their trainers Their jockeys Their betting positions Their long-term stable economics A steward’s duty is equally absolute: Impartial enforcement of the Rules of Racing Fearless interrogation of suspicious rides Protection of the betting public Preservation of the sport’s credibility These two roles are mutu...

A.SANDESH & THE BEZALEL FARCE — A CASE THAT DEMANDS EXEMPLARY JUSTICE What unfolded in the final race at Mahalaxmi on 21st December 2025 was not merely a defeat of an odds-on favourite — it was a public mockery of racing integrity played out in full view of thousands. Jockey A. Sandesh, astride BEZALEL, rode in a manner that can only be described as bewildering, defensive, and inexplicably passive. At a time when urgency was demanded, the so-called champion rider appeared ALL AT SEA — producing just three perfunctory whips out of the eight permitted, never once asking the horse a serious question when the race was still within reach. To the naked eye — and to any honest racing professional — BEZALEL was openly hooked. There was no vigour, no conviction, no attempt to win commensurate with the weight of public money invested. Even a toddler could sense something was amiss. An Enquiry has been opened, but let it be said plainly: This is not a borderline case. This is not a “judgement...

Indian Horse Racing: A Syndicate Masquerading as a Sport  Indian horse racing has ceased to be a sport. It is now a closed syndicate, run by invisible hands, where the punter is nothing more than prey. The system is so brazen that deception is no longer hidden—it is performed in plain sight. Every other race day delivers the same farce: odds-on favourites imploding, form books rendered useless, and “explanations” so insulting that they assume the betting public to be intellectually vacant. *This is not competition. This is theatre—scripted, rehearsed, and monetised.*  What makes the rot incurable is the total abdication of authority. The Stewards, entrusted with safeguarding integrity, have reduced themselves to rubber stamps in blazers. There is no appetite to interrogate, no courage to question repeat patterns, and no urgency to protect the sport. Inquiries are conducted only to create the illusion that something was done; conclusions are pre-decided; files are closed, and ...

  EXCITING INDIAN 2000 GUINEAS ON THE CARDS The spotlight shifts to Mahalaxmi on Sunday, December 21, as the prestigious Grade 1 Indian 2000 Guineas , the second Classic of the Mumbai racing season, takes centre stage. Even in the absence of a title sponsor, the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has ensured that the race will lose none of its traditional grandeur, promising a spectacle rich in quality, competition, and excitement. Adding to the festive atmosphere, RWITC has announced a free contest of skill for racegoers, with an attractive total prize pool of ₹25 lakh . Entry forms will be available at the Members’ and First Enclosure gates, where participants will be required to predict the winner of the Classic. The top three selections will be rewarded handsomely with ₹15 lakh, ₹5 lakh, and ₹2.5 lakh , while a further ₹2.5 lakh has been earmarked for consolation prizes. Contested by three-year-old colts, fillies, and geldings over the metric mile (1,600 metres) , the...

  ‘ONE TO CHERISH’ PERISHES — AND WITH HIM, MYSORE RACING COLLAPSES Suraj Shaw-trained ONE TO CHERISH has succumbed to Glanders , and with his tragic demise, the curtain has effectively fallen on the Mysore Winter Racing Season 2025–26 . Disturbing reports suggest that the horse was already ill upon arrival at the Mysore Race Club . The exact date of his entry into the station remains unclear. If these reports hold true, the responsibility squarely lies with the Club’s Veterinary Department , whose alleged lapse in enforcing bio-security protocols has proved devastating. This single failure has plunged owners, trainers, jockeys, and stable staff into deep uncertainty about their immediate future. Ironically, the very Glanders containment protocols enforced by the race clubs have resulted in a self-inflicted wound . What was meant to safeguard racing has instead brought it to a grinding halt. As matters stand, racing at Mysore and Bangalore is unlikely to resume before May 202...

  Fingers Crossed at Mysore: Glanders Test to Decide Racing’s Fate on MONDAY - 15th December 2025 The Mysore Race Club (MRC) is anxiously awaiting the final outcome of glanders testing that will ultimately determine whether racing can resume at the centre next week. With Indian racing already reeling under the shadow of bio-security scares, Mysore now finds itself holding its breath as the final report on a single horse could decide the immediate future of the season. The concern revolves around the two-year-old bay colt One To Cherish , from whom multiple samples were sent to the National Research Centre for Equines (NRCE). In all, four samples were dispatched for testing, and results received on Friday brought partial relief, with three samples returning negative for glanders. However, the process is not yet complete. A final confirmatory test is currently being conducted using the paired serum sample and nasal swabs , taken in triplicate, from One To Cherish. The definitiv...

  WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GLANDERS OUTBREAK CATASTROPHE IN INDIAN RACING? Let’s stop sugar-coating it — the Indian turf authorities themselves have engineered this disaster . Through negligence, indifference, and a stunning lack of professional accountability, they have dragged the sport into a biosecurity crisis of their own making. The Glanders outbreak didn’t “happen.” It was allowed to happen. Allowed by clubs that refused to treat a fatal, protocol-bound disease with the gravity it demanded. Hyderabad has already been decimated, and the remaining centres are shamelessly lining up to repeat the same mistakes, sleepwalking into chaos. This is what happens when race clubs operate with prehistoric administrative structures , outdated veterinary oversight, zero crisis-readiness, and committees more interested in politics than protection. The warning signs were blinking for months — yet the response was textbook incompetence: delay, denial, and total dereliction of duty. Ind...

  INDIAN HORSE RACING IN RUINS: A SPORT BLEEDING FROM EVERY VEIN Indian horse racing is collapsing—not gradually, not quietly, but in a terrifying freefall that threatens to wipe out one of the country’s oldest and most storied sporting traditions. What we are witnessing today is not a crisis of a single club or a single season. This is the total unravelling of the ecosystem. The sport is bleeding from every vein, and the wounds are deep. Bangalore Brought to Its Knees Glanders has struck the Bangalore Turf Club , and with it, the last hope of salvaging the 2025–26 Winter Season. The mandatory 90-day shutdown means one thing: the season is dead before it even began. But disease is only half the story. BTC is a house without a roof, a ship without a captain. The administration has never been weaker, never been more directionless. Critical positions are filled with individuals lacking the experience, the grounding, and the knowledge required to manage racing operations ev...

  BTC Is on the Brink — and Only 'Divine' Intervention Can Save It The Bangalore Turf Club is in freefall . Government heat, financial decay, and a total leadership vacuum have pushed this once-respected institution to the worst crisis in its history . Successive chairmen have failed the club, but the current regime has taken the collapse to a new low. Chairman Shivashankar has ceded control to the infamous DUBIOUS BROTHER'S  whose private office now functions as BTC’s shadow headquarters. Decisions are dictated, outcomes engineered, and the elected committee stands reduced to mute spectators. The forced removal of the Secretary and the Chief Stipendiary Steward has ripped out the two pillars that uphold administrative continuity and racing integrity. The Stipendiary Steward may have been rightfully removed , but the aftermath has been even more destructive: the mantle of race supervision has been handed to completely inexperienced individuals , turning a sensitive, t...