Racing at BTC to resume Friday

Racing activities will resume at the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) this Friday after a set of jockeys declared the track largely satisfactory following two mock races held at the Club here on Wednesday.In their feedback to the BTC authorities, the group of jockeys said the track was fit for racing but added that rain could play a dampener. “After the mock races, we found the track to be okay. There weren’t major issues.“But in case of rain, the track cannot absorb the water and it would be almost impossible to race. We have conveyed this to the BTC officials,” senior jockey PS Chouhan told DH. BTC chairman Vinod Sivappa said they were happy with the response from the jockeys and trainers and added that necessary steps will be taken to avoid any mishaps on the race days. “What happened last week was a pure accident. I didn’t see any technical issues. The track cannot be perfect. It has minor issues and we are working on it. But we are completely confident that racing will be held smoothly on both Friday and Saturday,” Sivappa told DH. Two races -- the Rajyothsava Trophy and The Karnataka Police Trophy -- which were cancelled last week, will be held on Friday, making it a 10-race day. A freak accident rocked the BTC on the opening day of the Winter Meeting last Friday and left three jockeys injured. An unheralded horse Naayab emerged winner of the race, leaving the punters furious. After massive chaos, police resorted to lathi-charge to control the situation.