India, Dec. 19 -- The horse racing industry is facing an unprecedented crisis at the start of winter racing in India. The detection of glanders - a highly contagious and transmissible bacterial disease affecting horses and causing respiratory issues - has brought racing in Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad to a standstill. The entire season is wiped out, with no movement in and out of these centres permitted either. Chennai has shut due to sudden regulatory steps on its lease, which is unlikely to be revived. Perhaps for the first time in history, racing is now only at two major centres of Mumbai and Kolkata in the peak racing months. With a shock result in the Indian 1,000 last Sunday with the narrow loss of Fynbos, rated as the best juvenile in India, the 2,000 coming up on Sunday has the makings of a true cracker. Group winners Baychimo, Big Bay, Sovereign King, Stormy Sea and Zacharias make this one of the hottest 2,000's in years and it could be a real humdinger. And the expected presence of superstar jockey Oisin Murphy, to ride Pune Derby winner Zacharias, should be enough to finally draw a big crowd to Mahalaxmi. Adhiraj Jodha holds two aces in Sovereign King, who won the Colts' in the Bangalore summer and though short of a run, impressed most in a mock race in early December and his Baychimo, a classy winner in fast time in his prep, a live danger. This brings me to a different subject - the conduct of objections. In the race on December 4, it required Ram Shroff in the Chair as Chairman of the Stewards to uphold what appeared to even a layman, an objection that had to be upheld in favour of Golden Dancer, who was badly interfered with. Surprisingly, each of the three "stipes" voted otherwise. It has been my suggestion in the past that the order of asking for a vote on an objection both between the stipes and Stewards of the Club be taken in random order, as often the juniors find it difficult to go against the seniors in both bodies. This helps judge the quality of participants who, more often than not, simply follow the leader. The detection of a prohibited substance in three animals in veteran trainer Bezan Chenoy's yard, at Pune, for which the enquiry has yet to start with the B samples awaited, begets the question if the investigating stipes should actually be facilitating getting to the bottom of the occurrence. For, that is in the interest of all professionals than simply throwing the rule book....