The new chief executive officer of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club feels this is the “best turf club in the country”, what with Victoria Memorial in the backdrop and the adjoining green expanse of the Maidan.
“And I am not just saying it because I am from RCTC,” laughed Sudhir Kumar Kothari as we settled down in the long balcony of the renovated Reserve Stand at this 168-year-old club.
Kothari was born in Calcutta and studied at St. Lawrence High School and St. Xavier’s College before training as a chartered accountant and company secretary. He has been associated with the Turf Club for four years, as CFO, club secretary, and now as CEO. He brings with him nearly a decade’s experience in the hospitality sector, having previously worked with The Park and Kenilworth Hotel.
Kothari has taken over as CEO at a time when the club needs a fillip to make itself more attractive to youngsters.
“We have reached a state of saturation in terms of footfall. Very few young people are coming, except for New Year Races and Derby. On those days they show a lot of interest but once they’ve gone back, they forget about it.”
So one big challenge is to draw patrons and punters beyond the big days of winter racing. Few are aware that there’s a monsoon racing season as well, fewer still know of the Monsoon Derby, which too has attractive prize money.
Kothari and his team have five focus areas for now — the punter, the member, the horse, the horse owner and revenue.
The punter: “We are trying to ensure that the patron places a bet. If his ROI (return on investment) is good, he’ll come back. He should be happy with the dividend we are declaring. Maybe we can tweak what the club is retaining by way of commission so that the punter gets more in hand,” Kothari said. To make things more exciting and give better returns, RCTC has introduced a Forecast Pool, where a punter has to nominate in correct order the winning horse and the horse that is placed second in a race.
The member: To make membership more attractive, the Reserve Stand was renovated a couple of years back. “We have also started a new category called associate membership (see box),” Kothari said.
He pointed out that unlike other clubs, even non-members can enter RCTC. “You can come to the general stand (called the Grand Stand) by buying a Rs 10 ticket. Even if you want to come to the Members’ Stand, all you need is a reference from a club member and payment of a small daily fee (usually Rs 200). Now we are thinking of allowing in people even without a member’s reference, just by paying a certain fee.”
The club has also started a limited number of reciprocal memberships with The Bengal Club.
According to Kothari, educating the common man about the races was a priority. “All this terminology we use — win, place, tanala, quinella — it’s complicated for a newcomer. Maybe we will have a leaflet explaining these terms, telling people how to place a bet and how to read the race book. We want to simplify the race book too.”
The horse: The club has to ensure that “the horses are treated properly, stables should have all the comforts like ideal temperature, circulation of air, good feed and medical treatment”, stressed Kothari.
RCTC is setting up a second veterinary facility, a hospital with the latest equipment, so that any fall or injury can be treated in-house. It will be operational in a few months.
The horse owner: Outstation owners will come if the stake and prize money are high enough. On that count, Kothari is happy with what the Calcutta racecourse is offering. “Our stake money is more than some of the other turf clubs in the country, in spite of all the difficulties,” he pointed out.
Revenue: That brought us to the challenges RCTC faces in revenue generation. One of the primary disadvantages Kothari feels, is the lack of off-course betting centres.
“Unfortunately, in this part of the country, we have not been able to set them up. The racecourses in Bangalore, Mumbai or Hyderabad have betting shops in different locations in their states. In Vijayawada, the betting shop can accommodate up to 25,000 patrons! Old single-screen halls are being converted into off-course betting centres. Karnataka and Maharashtra have some 10 betting centres each.”
In Bengal, administrative reasons and a pronounced social taboo on gambling have hampered the setting up of betting centres.
“But we should not be neglected just because we have betting. When we are paying around Rs 15 crore a year to the state exchequer, we need support from the government too,” Kothari said, adding that with around 680 people working on the club premises and a similar number in the stables, “we are giving employment to nearly 1,400 people, which I think very few industries in Calcutta must be giving”.
Secondly, sponsorship is drying up as the industrial fortunes of Bengal continue to plummet. At the same time, RCTC is unable to ramp up its earnings the way other clubs can. “There are certain restrictions because this land is on lease from the ministry of defence. We cannot give this place for social functions like weddings. But see, a chunk of the revenue of the Mumbai Turf Club comes from giving out their premises for such functions.”
Despite all the problems, the high stakes of the Calcutta races year on year is proof enough that there’s hope for RCTC. “And with the right kind of marketing, including proper use of social media, this prestigious club can make itself attractive to the next generation,” smiled the CEO.
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