April 28, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1429

KARACHI, April 27: Ugly scenes were witnessed when the fourth race of the day’s programme at the Karachi Race Club was cancelled after it was run and cleared by the administration.

According to details, five-year-old chestnut Dr Dang, with rider Ghulam Shabbir II astride, was opened favourite when the betting commenced.

The scenario, however, swiftly changed when Dr Dang’s stable-mate chestnut King Of Cool, with half jockey Lateef in the saddle, came into heavy betting.

Racegoers alleged that Dr Dang, aspiring to win fourth race on the trot, seemed not serious during the race and was easily overtaken by long shot King Of Cool, who beat the former by one-and-a-half lengths.

The crazy racing fans went berserk the moment the race was cleared by the concerned authorities. People, including the turf accountants, ran for shelter as the angry crowd threw empty bottles near the better ring and canteen besides shouting “shame shame”.

The situation calmed down after some time following intervention of KRC patron Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara, who cancelled the race.

“This could have been averted had the race been cancelled earlier instead of being cleared,” a race connoisseur told Dawn.—AZ