January 25, 2008	Friday	Muharram 15, 1429

LAHORE, Jan 24: In a bid to improve the standard of riding here, race horse owners at the Lahore Racecourse have called upon the higher authorities to make arrangements for inviting jockeys from India.

Six leading stable owners, Zaheer Aslam, Mian Maahir Ahmad and Mahmood Khan, and three stewards, Syed Parvaiz Hussain Shah, Munir Ahmad Dar and Khawaja M. Arif, have pointed out one of the major difficulties faced by the owners in Lahore, which is a dearth of calibre jockeys to ride their horses in the races.

While talking to Dawn on Thursday, they said that this was an urgent need to give a boost to horseracing here. Foreign jockeys and trainers were invited here in the past as well and the standard of racing had shot up considerably in those days with their arrival.

In this modern era, when speed and efficiency have become so essential, the LRC has also endeavoured to keep itself abreast of the modern trends and developments. The installation of a photo-finish recording camera, computerised totalisator, floodlights, mirror attachments etc at the racecourse have helped in the clear viewing of the field on close circuit television from each side of the course.

But then all these developments are practically going to waste in view of the falling standards of racing.

LRC steward Khawaja M. Arif further suggested that Indian horses should also be allowed to take part in races here and the quarantine rules be relaxed for them. “The standard of horse racing between the two neighbours would surely go up then,” he said.