December 18, 2007	Tuesday	Zilhaj 7, 1428

LAHORE, Dec 17: Concrete measures were being taken to boost financial resources of Lahore Race Club (LRC) to enable it to increase its prize-money amount being awarded to horses placed first, second and third in races.

LRC chairman, Tariq Aziz, disclosed this on Sunday while referring to horse-owners appeal for such an increase as published in the Dawn last week

He said being an owner himself, he was aware of the problems being faced by the owners and wanted to solve them at the earliest.

He fully agreed when told that the cost of maintenance, provision of feed, Veterinarian treatment and medicines have been on the rise and the recent outbreak of equine influenza hit them hard.

According to his estimates each stable nearly spent rupees fifty thousand on the treatment of horses, which was an additional burden put on owners.

Showing LRC income graph and expenditure incurred by it including the amount being awarded to winning owners he said the club was suffering a loss of over rupees half a million per race day.

This loss is met either through sponsorship of race events or from the reserve fund of the club. He said at present the sponsorship was barely nominal. We are on the look out to find sports lovers to come forward for sponsorship.

He said in order to contribute towards the welfare of horse-owners, the winners are being provided subsidy ranging from rupees ten to rupees twenty thousand rupees each. He agreed that this amount too was insufficient to cope up with the expenditure being incurred by the owners.

He said he was taking steps to raise club’s income and consolidate its financial position to be in a position to provide better package to owners. Provision of a round the year racing facility was the first step towards achieving this objective and minimizing problems of the owners, who are the back bone of the horse-racing and breeding industry.

If there are no owners, there will be no horse-racing , and if there is no racing there will be no breeding. They all are part of the industry’s chariot.

He said efforts were being made to bring in more and more new owners. The club’s environments were being updated so that owners are provided best facilities for their families so that they felt Race Club a place worth spending a day out and enjoy racing.

The LRC has recently converted an open space in to a children park where children are to be provided playing facilities. The park is situated on an ideal location just close to the artificial lake.

He hoped the dawn of the new-year will usher in a more prosperous and happy days ahead for the entire racing community.

During the talk, two stewards Syed Parvaiz Hussain Shah and Khawaja M. Arif were present.