India, Sept. 23 -- The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) AGM was done and dusted last Thursday, and the only interest was in the election to the Board of Appeal. This did not get the numbers a Committee election does and that only 705 voted, about 100 less than in 2023 is a reflection of the disinterest of members. Next door at the Willingdon Club, there were 9 contestants for four seats on the Managing Committee with a near record turnout to vote. As the RWITC refuses to budge from its stand of conducting its meetings only on Zoom when a once a year in person dialogue with its members is surely the way to go. While applauding the Committee on my online speech at the AGM on the lease extension by 30 years and the approval to build a Club House, a potential money spinner, I did reiterate that having no election for four straight years is not a statistic to be proud of, and a mood of complacency can surely set in. My concern remains on the electoral process and the dogmatic approach in not bringing in deterrents like the CCI club has. It is an open secret that OTPs are liberally shared and user IDs easily generated to vote on behalf of others which is disallowed by the Articles as it amounts to a proxy. It is the foremost duty of the Committee to ensure a free and fair election and a hybrid meeting with facial recognition for e-votes as the CCI does must be thought of. Ms Zinia Lawyer though re-elected attributed her poor overall tally for this very reason. The lack of presence of elected stewards at the Pune Race Course has raised eyebrows as more often that not members have to be hounded to form the quorum on objections. The Committee could think of appointing fixed Additional Day Stewards as a panel to take part only when the elected Stewards are absent. The recent suspension of a trainer, allegedly for being "offensive" to the Stipes by imposing even stricter disabilities and a higher suspended sentence than jockeys/ trainers charged with malpractice or medication infringements deserves a relook at the Rules by making a distinction between differing offences . Ultimately the sport suffers with such arbitrariness. That Indian Derby winning Fynbos suffered a shock defeat in the Indian St Leger which can be partly attributed to the hurrying tactics of her jockey Vivek and the filly was made to see daylight for the length of the Pune straight. Though Pesi Shroff had a treble on Leger Day, the new star Adhiraj Jodha has a comfortable lead at the top of the trainer's pyramid and deserves the Championship which was denied to him last year in view of a suspension which made him sit out most of the season....