Genuine punters hem and haw

HYDERABAD: A fresh racing season is more than a couple of months away, but the Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) is already headlong into a crisis, courtesy the betting syndicates that have sprung up in the city since the start of the current Ooty season. These syndicates, regulars allege, have links with a nationwide racket of fixers and therefore get away with huge returns by backing horses at even the longest of odds.This perhaps explains how while local punters are turning mad at the spate of long-shot winners, these gangsters are making hay on the basis of the information they receive. According to punters at HRC and several off-course betting centres dotting the city, the modus operandi of these gangsters is to have their men in queues at several betting windows and swing into action once the information filters in. With money coming down pouring in the last few minutes, it was seen that even horses offering high dividends have often turned favourites in a matter of minutes. What's more surprising is that most such horses have turned out to be the eventual winners. According to the supervisor of an offcourse centre, the ingenious of the gang members have even befriended some tote operators into helping them in their operations. Promising good rewards for their cooperation, the gangsters deposit huge amounts with them so that their bets could be placed at a mere signal. As a first step to check this trend, the HRC has from last Saturday started to close the betting counters five minutes before the start of each race. "This is a disturbing trend. The club is highly concerned about the wild swings in odds, particularly just before the start of the races. In order to minimise the effect of such unethical practices, we have decided to stop accepting bets five minutes before the start of races," said HRC chairman R Surender Reddy. Speaking to The Times of India on Wednesday, the chairman said the board is meeting again next Monday to take stock of the situation and if needed would take further steps.