LAHORE, Nov 18: The spectre of bogus pedigree horses has once again raised its head at the Lahore Racecourse and the Jockey Club of Pakistan (JCP) is considering taking action over a recent incident.

Earlier this month a case of fraudulent running of an English thoroughbred mare framed as an unknown mare came to light, which caused alarm and concern among race horse owners, known to scrupulously follow racing rules.

An owner had the audacity to enter an English thoroughbred mare under the name of ‘Rani’ on Nov 5, declaring her as an unknown pedigree.

It evoked sharp criticism by those suspecting foul play as Rani’s confirmation looked like that of a thoroughbred. The matter was referred to the JCP.

The JCP steward, Munir Ahmad Dar, an ex-captain of the national hockey team, who also happens to be a race horse owner and breeder, conducted an inquiry and traced out her import documents to get them examined by the Lahore Race Club (LRC) veterinary officer.

The veterinary officer checked the description given in the import documents with an on the spot examination of the mare. Everything checked out.

The vet’s report revealed that Rani was in fact a mare imported by a breeder. She was only given the title of Rani to hoodwink authorities.

The JCP is contemplating action and Rani’s entry in races has been banned till then.There have been some other instances of the same nature, whereby the JCP had detected cases of bogus pedigrees, submitting fake documents. Imported horses had in some cases been registered as Pakistani thoroughbreds or half-bred.

A thorough probe was held by the JCP with strong action taken against those involved in this fraudulent practice. Participation of such horses was banned in races for good. Ironically wealthy and influential owners are generally found involved in malpractices.

At the time, JCP steward and breeder Begum Abida Hussain launched a campaign for the eradication of this menace, which had salutary effects for some time.

Meanwhile, horse owners have urged the authorities to deal with such unscrupulous elements with a heavy hand.—AG