Is the Mauritius Turf Club living its last hours? For the time being, everything suggests that we are heading in this direction. Especially since the law for the establishment of the Horse Racing Division under the aegis of the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has been passed, but not yet promulgated.
And the last meeting between the leaders of the Mauritius Turf Club and the MTC Sports and Leisure (MTCSL) with the GRA at the Prime Minister’s office on Monday, October 18, which was supposed to settle the situation, did not produce any concrete results.
Since the introduction of the new health protocol, allowing the reopening of casinos and other bars or nightclubs, the Mauritian turf leaders have officially requested the lifting of the closed-door period at the Champ-de-Mars.
According to the MTC and the MTCSL, the closure is hurting the horse racing industry financially. The losses since the beginning of the season amount to more than 40 millions according to the turf leaders. A catastrophic situation for trainers and stable owners.
So much so that the MTC and the MTCSL are considering interrupting the horse racing season if the lock-up is maintained.
And the last meeting on Monday, October 18, only accentuated the doubts about the future of local horse racing.
The authorities present made it clear that they will study the requests of the MTC and the MTCSL, especially the one to allow the presence of a limited number of turf players at the Champ de Mars.
In the meantime, this Tuesday, October 19, the leaders of the MTC and the MTCSL met with the administrative commissioners and the trainers. And an interruption of the season is not to be ruled out, because so far, the lock-in is still in force.
The tug of war between the local Turf leaders and the government could take another turn, threatening hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the process.
