KARACHI: The horses are ready, so are their jockeys — as ready as the men who have come all the way here for the day to watch the races.
This is no display of any simple and straightforward equine sport, such as show jumping, where you appreciate the horses just for their beauty and grace; these are the races made popular throughout the world for the money associated with them, and the horses here are champions. Millions of rupees exchange hands at the Karachi Race Club (KRC) every Sunday as horses are judged on their pedigree, age, track-record and handicap.
You don’t burden these horses with weight. They are not work horses. These animals race. So just as the horses are tall and sturdy, the jockeys are short and thin. They wear shiny shirts so you don’t miss them because of their slight builds. For them, the battle against weight is a constant companion. If they lose it, they must find other things for them to do such as train other jockeys, and horses, too, perhaps.
Former jockey Mohyuddin says that he trains Pir Pagara’s horses now. “There was a time when I used to weigh 51kg. That was when I was a jockey,†he says. “But as soon as I let myself go, I could no longer work as a jockey.â€
The KRC these days serves as a nursery for most jockeys. “The best ones go to Dubai. They pay them very well there, around £1,000 a month,†explains Mohyuddin.
Before each race the jockeys, along with their saddles and riding gear, are weighed in the jockey’s room. They will be weighed again after their race to make sure they weigh the same as before and not less. Should they turn out to weigh less, something is wrong. Less weight would obviously help a horse run faster. The weight of the horses, known as the handicap, is mentioned in the pocket-size paperback book, the KRC prospectus, published every week ahead of the Sunday races. The gamblers — or punters — buy these books for information about each horse in order to be able to decide which horse in which race they want to bet on.
A managing committee overseeing everything makes sure that the races are carried out without cheating. Stewards supervise everything and report to the committee in case of any wrongdoing. Anything out of the ordinary reported to the stewards by punters is also given serious consideration. The races are witnessed by them at close range from a car moving along with the horses on the sidelines to make sure that no jockey pulls a horse or throws a race. In such cases, both the owner and rider may be punished through fines and suspensions according to the rules of the Jockey Club of Pakistan. Penalisation also includes the confiscation of stake money.
The photo-finish camera on the finishing line provides evidence of the wins. Sometimes the winner is ahead by a neck, sometimes a nose and sometimes by several metres. There is a lot at stake here so everything has to be recorded as proof. Each race may mean a person going from prince to pauper, or the other way around.
A race with four horses on the card begins, setting off a furore in the stands. Some punters try running up to the fence to cheer on the horse they’ve bet on. They are stopped by the staff, of course. Later, the winning horse is brought to a separate grassy enclosure in front of the dirt racing track for elated punters to pat. They also congratulate the jockey and reward him. The KRC also awards a few thousand rupees from the stake money to the winning jockey for every win.
Naseem Arab, today, is very happy as he happens to be the owner of several race-winning horses such as The Great Arab and Princess H.K.M. Just like he has named one horse after himself, Princess H.K.M has been named after his three children: her initials stand for Hasan, Kashmala and Mehek. Superstition plays a big part in this place. A newspaper reporter who patted The Great Arab, who won a race, is called again to pat Princess H.K.M as well.
In the human world, separate events are organised for men and women; but in equine sports, mares and fillies square up against stallions and colts. Breed or pedigree is an important aspect of horse-racing. Horses around nine or 10 years of age that cannot race long distances are sold off to stud farms for breeding purposes. Each horse, besides being registered with a catchy name, carries the tag “son or daughter of (father’s name) out of (mother’s name)â€, which records its racing genes.
The horses can be sold to stud farms for prices ranging from Rs6,00,000 to Rs10,00,000. The bigger a champion the horse is, the higher the price. Their offspring, subsequently, are extremely expensive. That is why racing horses of unknown pedigree or parentage were introduced a while back. Apart from bringing in fresh blood, they helped keep the sport alive by being affordable.
Karachi Race Course is built upon 257 acres of land in Deh Safooran on main University Road. The land is owned by Pir Pagara. The facilities were moved here after the land-lease of the old racecourse expired almost 30 years ago. There is a veterinary hospital in the stable area providing vaccinations and treatment for minor ailments. Horses injured in a race are not brought here though. They are immediately shot — ending life brings quick pain relief.
