END OF THE RACE? Overtaxed and outraced by illegal betting, horse racing in Hyderabad gasps for survival | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: Once the sport of kings and a thriving weekend affair, horse racing is now limping along — crippled by steep taxes and outpaced by a booming underground betting scene.At Hyderabad Race Club, official collections have nosedived from Rs 1,217 crore in 2016–17 to just Rs 141 crore in 2024–25 — a near 90% drop.The sport slump began after a steep 28% GST was imposed on every rupee wagered, not just on winnings. Industry insiders say most of this money hasn’t disappeared. It has simply changed lanes, flowing into illegal betting networks where punters can avoid the tax hit and pocket more.Hyderabad’s illegal betting network is now estimated to be worth around Rs 2,000 crore annually. In cities like Bengaluru, it’s believed to be at least two-and-a-half times higher.“No punter has stopped betting. Even now, thousands turn up at racecourses. But they’re placing bets elsewhere, creating a flourishing underground market worth thousands of crores in less than a decade, leaving both race clubs and the government poorer,” said V Narender Reddy of the Telangana Race Horse Owners Association and a punter with over three decades of experience.How does illegal betting work?Punters are increasingly turning to ‘trusted’ circles on messaging apps like WhatsApp, placing bets via phone calls or using small third-party apps. To ensure payment, most illegal operators require the bet amount to be deposited in advance, a system they built on mutual trust and reputation.On a recent race day in June, one of the owners at Hyderabad Race Club wasn’t watching the horses on the local track. Instead, he was glued to a screen showing a live race from Mysore — part of Inter Venue Betting (IVB), where punters bet on races held in other cities. Tote counters and bookmakers were just a few hundred metres away, yet he remained fixed to his phone.He was on a call with dozens of others placing bets in real time. Snippets of conversations could be overheard — “10 lakh”, “15 lakh”, “10,000” … all being wagered on a race hundreds of kilometres away.“Here, I just have to pay 5% cut to the bookie. But if I use the legal channel, half my money goes into taxes,” he said, while simultaneously placing bets via a WhatsApp group where odds and stakes are shared before each race, just like at official counters.A few hundred metres away, a 52-year-old man stared blankly at the big screen after losing his third bet of the day. “I’m done for the day. Lost Rs 3,000,” he said. “I do place bets at the counter too but prefer doing it over the phone. It’s simply more profitable,” he said, adding that he has been visiting the race club for over 30 years.‘A dying ecosystem’Be it the number of owners, horses, trainers, or stud farms — the entire ecosystem has shrunk significantly in the past decade.“Many owners, especially locals, have exited in recent years as they’re not even earning enough to maintain their horses. Today, around 60% of owners at Hyderabad Race Club are from outside the state,” said LVR Deshmukh, a veteran trainer who has held a licence since 1995 and has trained several champion horses. He currently manages 47 horses; the maximum a trainer can handle is 60.According to the club and owners, the number of horses has dropped from around 1,000 to just 650. The number of registered trainers stands at 23.Meanwhile, the cost of owning and maintaining a horse has at least doubled, while stake money has remained largely stagnant.“We used to get a horse for Rs 5 lakh: now it’s Rs 20 lakh. Monthly maintenance has shot up to Rs 35,000. Earlier, the club offered loans to help buy horses, but that’s stopped due to losses. Owners are spending Rs 40 crore per year from their own pockets just to keep the sport alive,” said PSN Reddy, general secretary of the state owners’ association, which has about 500 members.They also are planning to put forth a proposal before the club to make it mandatory for every voting member to own a horse as a step to strengthen the sport.Measures to revive the sportWhile club officials and punters admit that the situation has improved slightly after the removal of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) in the recent budget, they believe the only way to revive the sport is by reducing GST to 12% or 16%.“From auto drivers to the mafia, everyone is encouraging illegal betting. The only way to stop this is by reducing GST. This will bring at least Rs 1,300 crore back into legal channels — even if we go by 2016–17 figures — and revive race clubs, which provide direct employment to around 15,000 and indirect jobs to over a lakh,” said R Surender Reddy, chairman, Hyderabad Race Club.He added that all race clubs in the country have made several representations to the government over the years, seeking a reduction in GST, but have received no positive response.Seconding Reddy, Ananta Vatsalya, a cricketer-turned-trainer, said slashing GST is the only way to save the sport.“Right now, 90% of betting happens illegally, and it’s not benefitting anyone in the ecosystem. Small owners are completely wiped out, and many have reduced the number of horses they buy as they are paying more and earning less. To revive the sport, GST must be reduced,” he added.They also say that doing away with tax on total amount collected and imposing it only on commissions earned can also help clubs trot back to some semblance of normalcy.LOSING PACE: How Hyderabad Race Club Collections FaredYearTotal collection (in Rs crore)2014-15Rs 975.182015-16Rs 1, 166.352016-17Rs 1, 271.832017-18Rs 761.162018-19Rs 632.112019-20Rs 521.442020-21Rs 105.172021-22Rs 277.962022-23Rs 353.262023-24Rs 210.832024-25141.68
