Cranbourne Turf Club CEO Neil Bainbridge "supports a push, abandoned by Racing Victoria, for daylight-only training hours." Bainbridge, who is in charge of the Cranbourne training center, where "up to 800 horses work each morning, said he would support the end of training in the dark." Bainbridge: "If I could start in daylight I would. The difficulty is that a large number of our 147 trainers are part-timers with one or two in work and day jobs, but there are issues, like this, with the training of horses that require forward thinking" (HERALD SUN, 7/8). ... A day after former Indian Premier League Chair Lalit Modi's lawyer "returned the summons issued to his client by the Enforcement Directorate," the central agency on Wednesday emailed a copy of the document to the "controversial cricket administrator." On Tuesday, Modi's lawyer "had returned the copy of the summons to the ED," saying that he was not authorized to receive it. The ED last Friday issued summons to Modi through his lawyer in a
"money-laundering case registered against him," seeking his presence
at its office within three weeks (PTI, 7/8). ... National Rugby League CEO Dave Smith has "spoken out in support of besieged Australian and Queensland captain Cameron Smith" in the wake of criticism over his on-field actions after the spinal injury to former Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon. Smith: "The whole of rugby league regrets what happened that fateful night, it is a tragedy. Alex is an inspiring man and we continue to support him but Cam Smith is an absolute icon of our game. He is a great leader in the game and people should be under no disillusion that we see him as the strongest possible character and just a wonderful role model" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 7/8). ... The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday indicated it will appeal against former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti's report that "went in favour of Kochi Tuskers, the erstwhile IPL franchise whose contract was terminated" by the BCCI in '11 because of an "alleged breach of contract." The BCCI has been asked to pay Rs 550 crore ($86.6M) to Kochi Tuskers after arbitration ruled in favor of the team recently. Kochi, though, "is not interested in the money anymore and wants its team fielded in the next IPL season" (THE HINDU, 7/8). ... Former Indian cricket captain and Indian Super League franchise Atletico de Kolkata co-Owner Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said that the All India Football Federation "must take a cue from BCCI on developing the game in the country." Ganguly: "Success of any sport nationally or internationally depends on the infrastructure of the entire system. ISL is for a period of two months. ISL provides the structure for the Indian franchise. But I think IFA (AIFF) has to play a much bigger role if the football in India has to go forward with the support of ISL. ... Like in cricket, BCCI supports IPL and it is the body that runs the national team and makes sure they do well and the domestic structure is in place. Similarly IFA (AIFF) should play the pivotal role" (PTI, 7/8).
