LRC postpones Eid Cup and other races

LAHORE: Lahore Race Club (LRC) has postponed the upcoming Eid Cup and other races, scheduled for June 7 (Sunday), following prevailing COVID-19 in the country.

It has been learnt that the club assured the authorities adoption of full precautions laid out by the government but they were not allowed to resume activities. Shahzad Akhtar, Secretary of LRC confirmed that they have withdrawn the notification to kick off horse race on June 7. “We have postponed the race following the directives from the government,” he said.

Akhtar further said that the decision to resume races was taken due to financial problems linked to the people of the fraternity. He added that all races will now remain at a standstill until next announcement from the government. Even in a letter to Commissioner Lahore, LRC Chairman Makhdum Syed Ahmed Mahmud requested that LRC is a company limited by guarantee and encourage and promote breeding and training of horses. "We are going through difficult times generally and being a chairman of LRC in particular. This is to request you to allow us to function once a week with complete guidelines and SOPs. I must inform that we are losing six million rupees on account of salaries and other expenditures, not to mention the loses owners of horses are suffering, and we will not be able to go on like for long," he pleaded.