The troubles bedevilling Mauritius racing will see the 211 year old Mauritius Turf Club not be a part of organising races this year for the first time in their existence.
With the new season set to commence on Saturday 18 March, it was reported recently that the MTCSL had by late February not received the cost sharing agreement announced by the People’s Turf Plc Ltd (PTP) for the 2023 season.
A subsequent request by the PTP for the MTCSL to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which would effectively prevent the MTCSL from communicating on, amongst other items, the cost sharing agreement, was rejected.
The Board of the MTCSL resolved not to respond favourably to the NDA in what was termed a ‘muzzling imposed by the PTP’.
Local media platform Turf News reported last week that the 2023 Mauritius racing season season will now go ahead without the MTC Sports and Leisure Limited (MTCSL).
Its is reported that the members of the Mauritius Turf Club (MTC) chose unanimously, through their Extraordinary General Assembly held on Friday 3 March to step back and not to organize horseracing this season.
MTC President Gavin Glover said:
“When I woke up this morning, I was aware of the distress that will be upon all Mauritian turfists today and I am not forgetting all the stakeholders who have been to the Turf Club in recent years. I am before you because the decision that we had to make today is dramatic. The consequences will obviously be important for everyone, but I finished my speech today by saying that 2023 is a nightmare and that when we wake up in 2024, we hope it will be a better year. That means what it means. The MTC is not dead. The MTC will survive and hope for better days. This won’t happen in 2023, but let’s wait and see. We have employees that will suffer the consequences of what will happen. We will support the employees during these difficult times and we will not let them down. The aim of the MTC is not only to organize race days, but also to ensure that equestrian sport progresses in Mauritius. I didn’t become the President of the Turf Club to close the MTCSL. We were here to run and to keep running, but we can’t run under the current conditions. The Club will be open to members on race day. The MTC Annual General Meeting will be held in mid-April with audited accounts to 31 December 2022. This Assembly will have to decide on the direction of the MTC in view of the figures audited as of December 31, 2022.”
