What’s a horse racing season without punters?

It’s another race day at the Madras Race Club (MRC), but the premises wear a deserted look. In pre-Covid days, it would have been like a carnival, a steady flow of well-dressed patrons, a motley crowd of punters eager to place their bets and a gaggle of bookmakers busily noting down numbers and names for the bets. That buzz is missing, ever since the new season began earlier this month.

With the government restricting racegoers’ entry, the club looks a pale shadow of itself. While the horses are back on track, absence of seasoned punters who form the fulcrum of the racing industry is threatening to derail its economy. “The race club has been our second home for years now, but I haven’t been there since the races began this season. It’s a difficult situation for us to be in,” said a retired government employee and a veteran punter, While MRC has opened the tote betting counter, allowing intervenue bets (can be placed on any race across the country) for members and the racing patrons — the absence of bookmakers have hit the club hard. While a bookmaker offers fixed returns for a particular result, the dividend in tote is from the betting pool. The tote witnesses less than 10% of the usual bets and so the pool is much smaller.