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RACING

Equine management

Over two decades in the horse racing industry have put Dr. Veerendra Kaja, Handicapper, Stipendiary Steward and Principal, Apprentice Jockeys Training School, Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) on a firm footing.

Starting out as a vet helped, but what really equipped him for the vagaries of the profession was a course at the Kentucky International Thoroughbred Institute (KITI), affiliated to the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in the United States.

The specialised programme qualified him for horse riding, race horse training, breeding and stable management.

The educational experience began with breeding and the two-month course covered foaling, handling and managing of stallions and brood mares. To maintain a high pedigree, nomination of the stallion was all-important, necessitating the taking of mares to where the stallions were stationed. Among the three farms he worked in, the Three Chimneys in Lexington was the most prominent, Veerendra visited the foaling barns at night for a hands-on experience.

So much specialization has gone into equine studies that there was a class on foot-care alone! Shed row management taught one how horses were looked after in a stable, their cleaning up and even managing the staff that man them. The second part of the course is held in Louisville, where students have to train two year olds and older horses and watch morning track work closely. In the afternoons, they meet racing staff including the starter, stewards and, the clerk.

Where Indian turf authorities can take a leaf out of the book of their American counterparts is in the punctuality with which races are started there. Races begin on the dot largely because horses are schooled sufficiently to take the gate. Not once did Veerendra see a single horse rear up, proof of how well behaved they were. Lady jockeys in the US are almost equal in number with the men, while among the grooms, hot walkers and work riders, the women outnumber the men.

Most information there is aimed to better equip the punter.

Every race card for instance carries a speed rating of each competing horse, which is a computer analysis of past timings, performances broken down to each quarter. A per quarter timing is also flashed on screen when a race is on, as also the order of the runners.

And what about horses and their handling ? While spurs are prohibited, too much whipping is fined. It is mandatory for every farm to have a first aid kit. Incidents of cruelty to animals are virtually non-existent, since the animals rights movement is well entrenched there.

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