J&B Met winning owner, Hassen Adams, slated South African horseracing for failing to transform and accused Gold Circle of window dressing.

The Sunday Times article stated: "After Monday's election, in which only one Indian, Gold Circle's KZN chairman, Moga Pillay's nomination as a national board member was successful, Adams raised the issue of the lack of Indian representation."

"It appears that the only co-opted Indian on the board, Moga Pillay, is (window dressing)," Adams told the Sunday Times.

"When we nominate Indians to be elected, they never get on. The whites don't allow them to be elected onto the board. It is a travesty. The Indian community is the foundation of racing in Natal and they get treated like a bunch of scabs. It is time for change," he said.

Adams said: "For the first time we were able to win a race like this. It's 150 years since the arrival of Indians in South Africa. We must make a statement."

He claimed the industry was controlled by a cabal: "Most of these guys don't own a leg of a horse."

In 2001, Adams was elected as the first chairman of colour of the Western Cape regional board. He said questions were raised about having a black chairman and he relinquished the position.

In December 2009, he was legally elected to the Gold Circle chair. However, days prior to taking office, he said, he was "unconstitutionally and irregularly" removed.

Adams later resigned as steward and director.

"Indians are owners of lots of horses and are big punters. Without us, there would be no horse racing," he said.

Adams said he had invested millions in the industry over 25 years and promoted the sport to communities, political leaders, captains of industry, internatio-nal networks and all people regardless of race, colour, creed or religion.

Racehorse owner and film producer Anant Singh said Indians were the biggest supporters of the horse-racing industry in South Africa, despite the fact that it was tagged as a white man's sport.

"At Gold Circle, there have been personal agendas, self-interest and politics at play. In today's South Africa, racism should not exist and Indians and all people should have representation as their collective investment in both racehorses and betting is considerable.

"I served on the Gold Circle board but ... (resigned) as it was a frustrating experience. SA horse-racing has enormous respect worldwide and we have to collectively work together to achieve this end."

Partly Extracted from the Sunday Times