Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, following the efforts of the Forum for Fair and Clean Racing (FFCR), had made several suggestions for issuing licence. That was a few years ago. The then committee was not agreeable to the recommendations, especially for giving voting rights to all categories of the club members.

Some of those opposed to the suggestions made moved the Mumbai High Court and succeeded in getting a stay order against the enforcement of the suggestions. The matter is still pending in the court.

Meanwhile, a new committee was elected last year raising hopes of steering the RWITC from the choppy seas. Legal luminary Goolam Essaji, who chaired the Board Of Appeal from its inception and who preferred to retire voluntarily, was persuaded to contest. Thegoodwill that he had earned in the past saw him win with a thumping margin. He promptly took initiative to bring the promoters of FFCR -- Ram Khanna and Fali Poncha -- and stalwarts of the committee on one table for the betterment of the racing in western India.

RWITC chairman Dr C S Poonawalla and Ravi Ghai have now joined hands with the promoters of FFCR. They are on the verge of achieving the main goal of reducing betting taxes which will increase the quantum of official betting and improve the attendance.

Though not all the committee members were unified in the crisis, the stewards nevertheless came to the club's rescue. The RWITC's losses for the current year shot the Rs 4 crore mark. But this deficit could be wiped out by admitting 400 life members who will bring Rs 1 lakh each with them.

Things are not all that bleak, though the recession is a factor that nobody can ignore.