Latest news with #HyderabadRaceClub
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
END OF THE RACE? Overtaxed and outraced by illegal betting, horse racing in Hyderabad gasps for survival
1 2 3 4 5 6 Hyderabad: Once the sport of kings and a thriving weekend affair, horse racing is now limping along — crippled by steep taxes and outpaced by a booming underground betting scene. At Hyderabad Race Club, official collections have nosedived from Rs 1,217 crore in 2016–17 to just Rs 141 crore in 2024–25 — a near 90% drop. The sport slump began after a steep 28% GST was imposed on every rupee wagered, not just on winnings. Industry insiders say most of this money hasn't disappeared. It has simply changed lanes, flowing into illegal betting networks where punters can avoid the tax hit and pocket more. Hyderabad's illegal betting network is now estimated to be worth around Rs 2,000 crore annually. In cities like Bengaluru, it's believed to be at least two-and-a-half times higher. "No punter has stopped betting. Even now, thousands turn up at racecourses. But they're placing bets elsewhere, creating a flourishing underground market worth thousands of crores in less than a decade, leaving both race clubs and the government poorer," said V Narender Reddy of the Telangana Race Horse Owners Association and a punter with over three decades of experience. How does illegal betting work? Punters are increasingly turning to 'trusted' circles on messaging apps like WhatsApp, placing bets via phone calls or using small third-party apps. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Keep Your Home Efficient with This Plug-In elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo To ensure payment, most illegal operators require the bet amount to be deposited in advance, a system they built on mutual trust and reputation. On a recent race day in June, one of the owners at Hyderabad Race Club wasn't watching the horses on the local track. Instead, he was glued to a screen showing a live race from Mysore — part of Inter Venue Betting (IVB), where punters bet on races held in other cities. Tote counters and bookmakers were just a few hundred metres away, yet he remained fixed to his phone. He was on a call with dozens of others placing bets in real time. Snippets of conversations could be overheard — "10 lakh", "15 lakh", "10,000" … all being wagered on a race hundreds of kilometres away. "Here, I just have to pay 5% cut to the bookie. But if I use the legal channel, half my money goes into taxes," he said, while simultaneously placing bets via a WhatsApp group where odds and stakes are shared before each race, just like at official counters. A few hundred metres away, a 52-year-old man stared blankly at the big screen after losing his third bet of the day. "I'm done for the day. Lost Rs 3,000," he said. "I do place bets at the counter too but prefer doing it over the phone. It's simply more profitable," he said, adding that he has been visiting the race club for over 30 years. 'A dying ecosystem' Be it the number of owners, horses, trainers, or stud farms — the entire ecosystem has shrunk significantly in the past decade. "Many owners, especially locals, have exited in recent years as they're not even earning enough to maintain their horses. Today, around 60% of owners at Hyderabad Race Club are from outside the state," said LVR Deshmukh, a veteran trainer who has held a licence since 1995 and has trained several champion horses. He currently manages 47 horses; the maximum a trainer can handle is 60. According to the club and owners, the number of horses has dropped from around 1,000 to just 650. The number of registered trainers stands at 23. Meanwhile, the cost of owning and maintaining a horse has at least doubled, while stake money has remained largely stagnant. "We used to get a horse for Rs 5 lakh: now it's Rs 20 lakh. Monthly maintenance has shot up to Rs 35,000. Earlier, the club offered loans to help buy horses, but that's stopped due to losses. Owners are spending Rs 40 crore per year from their own pockets just to keep the sport alive," said PSN Reddy, general secretary of the state owners' association, which has about 500 members. They also are planning to put forth a proposal before the club to make it mandatory for every voting member to own a horse as a step to strengthen the sport. Measures to revive the sport While club officials and punters admit that the situation has improved slightly after the removal of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) in the recent budget, they believe the only way to revive the sport is by reducing GST to 12% or 16%. "From auto drivers to the mafia, everyone is encouraging illegal betting. The only way to stop this is by reducing GST. This will bring at least Rs 1,300 crore back into legal channels — even if we go by 2016–17 figures — and revive race clubs, which provide direct employment to around 15,000 and indirect jobs to over a lakh," said R Surender Reddy, chairman, Hyderabad Race Club. He added that all race clubs in the country have made several representations to the government over the years, seeking a reduction in GST, but have received no positive response. Seconding Reddy, Ananta Vatsalya, a cricketer-turned-trainer, said slashing GST is the only way to save the sport. "Right now, 90% of betting happens illegally, and it's not benefitting anyone in the ecosystem. Small owners are completely wiped out, and many have reduced the number of horses they buy as they are paying more and earning less. To revive the sport, GST must be reduced," he added. They also say that doing away with tax on total amount collected and imposing it only on commissions earned can also help clubs trot back to some semblance of normalcy. LOSING PACE: How Hyderabad Race Club Collections Fared Year Total collection (in Rs crore) 2014-15 Rs 975.18 2015-16 Rs 1, 166.35 2016-17 Rs 1, 271.83 2017-18 Rs 761.16 2018-19 Rs 632.11 2019-20 Rs 521.44 2020-21 Rs 105.17 2021-22 Rs 277.96 2022-23 Rs 353.26 2023-24 Rs 210.83 2024-25 141.68
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
8 racehorses die in Hyderabad-Jabalpur transit; PETA member moves MP high court
Bhopal: Eight racehorses have allegedly died due to starvation, infection, during suspected illegal transportation of more that 50 such horses from Hyderabad to Jabalpur, People for Ethical Treatments of Animal (PETA) officials said on Saturday. PETA member Simran Issar (43) on Saturday filed a petition before Madhya Pradesh high court on Saturday demanding action against owner of HithaNet India Pvt. Ltd Suresh Paladugu and caretaker Sachin Tiwari under the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960, and violation of Transportation of Animal Rules, and protection for the remaining 49 horses. Refuted allegations of Issar, Tiwari said that the 'horses were brought from Hyderabad to Jabalpur to open a state horse farm and all the allegations made by Israr are baseless.' District collector Deepak Saxena ordered a probe after a PETA member filed a complaint on behalf of former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi. 'A probe has been ordered. The Superintendent of Police has been asked to take action under relevant sections of the Animal Cruelty Act after the investigation,' Saxena said. According to PETA, a private company, HithaNet India, brought 57 horses from Hyderabad to develop a farm in Jabalpur's Rajpura village, between April 29 and May 5, without adhering to legal or procedural requirements like permission from the veterinary department and also need to show passports, an identity card of the horses. And, of these, eight died between May 7 and 13. Tiwari, meanwhile, said that eight of the horses died during transportation and 'of the 49 horses alive in Jabalpur, 16 are thorough bred horses and 33 are Marvari.' 'In the last few years Indian horse racing found popularity and amazing brand hence, new sponsored has come forward to sponsor Horse Power Sports League (HPSL) run by Hyderabad based businessman Suresh Paladugu, the man behind sponsoring all the big races in across India. Paladugu opened a company called HithaNet India Pvt. Ltd., he started to horse racing with online batting venture exclusively for Philippines which he ran at Hyderabad Race Club, which is called UnThose Matchup Racing. At the peak of this horse racing venture, they have 154 horses for racing,' Issar said. Issar alleged that horse races were broadcast in the Philippines through an app called Trooang Kareista, and the organisers paid a hefty rent to the Hyderabad Race Club. 'A man named Gangadhar Math was caretaker/manager of this operations. Paladugu and Math stopped paying the salaries to the staff in October, 2024 and they were issues of strike and labour law related other issues,' Issar added. In April, animal activist and polo player Lavanya Shikhawat got hold of picture and videos and filed complaint in April against Hyderabad race club and she wrote a letter to PETA immediately. 'The video and the photographs of Hyderabad Race Club was horrified with horses bleeding with their noses, dying to severe malnutrition and living in most and unhygienic condition. Since February, 2025 Paladugu stopped paying salaries to the staff and hence, these 154 horses were left without food, water and completely neglected completely almost four months,' said Issar. Issar added that of these 154, only 64 horses were left out and 8 to 10 horses of them were bought by Hyderabad Race Club. 'The unaccounted 90 horses are presumed to be died or missing,' PETA officials said on Saturday. The animal rights group alleged that the remaining horses were sent to Jabalpur from Hyderabad in the command and control of caretaker Tiwari, who is a close associate of Paladugu. 'A rapid response team was formed under the National Action Plan on the instructions of district collector Deepak Saxena to monitor and diagnose the possibility of glanders disease in horses and zoonotic diseases. With biosafety vigilance, blood serum samples of all the horses were sent to the National Equine Research Centre in Hisar, Haryana for testing. The report of 44 horses has come negative from the research centre. The report of the remaining horses has not been received yet. So far, eight horses have died during treatment and the treatment of other horses is continued under the supervision of the experts,' deputy director animal husbandry and dairy department Prafull Moon said on Friday.
