After a hiatus of three long months, live racing returns to the Calcutta track on Tuesday when the Calcutta Monsoon racing season kicks off. One can be rest assured that there will be plenty in store for punters and professionals alike.

For starters, there has been a good 10 per cent increase in the stake money which is a step in the right direction. For the 161 races that are slated to be run during the season, the advertised stake money is about Rs 5.8 crore.

The meet will comprise 23 race-days and will conclude on October 19. September 10 is an important date on the Kolkata racing calendar as three sweepstakes events will be conducted on that afternoon. These are the Calcutta Monsoon Sprint, Calcutta Fillies Trial Stakes and Calcutta Colts Trial Stakes.

The plum of the season, The Monsoon Derby, will be run on the first day of October. Apart from the sweepstakes of Rs. 40,000 each, the added money for this mile-and-quarter monsoon classic is Rs 20 lakh. The breeder of the winner receives 3 per cent of the total stakes while the trophy and 60 per cent of the balance stakes go to the winner. Any final entries for this gala event will cost the owner a whopping Rs 6 lakh. October 13 is the date slated for the running of the Monsoon Cup – a race steeped in tradition.

A total of 422 runners are already stationed at this centre, raring to go. Another 50 are expected to join them soon so that about 475 runners are likely to grace the track during this rainy season. They will be under the care of 19 ‘A’ licensed and 10 ‘B’ licensed trainers. The trainers in the latter category are AA Ahmed, Arjun Mangalorkar, Darius Byramji, Imtiaz Sait, JS Dhariwal, N Raghunath, Pesi Shroff, Rashid Byramji, SS Habbu and SS Atallohi. Shroff and Darius are expected to flex their muscles every now and then as their stables have a surplus of quality horseflesh.

Big guns like brothers Vijay and Bharath Singh are set to roar while queen bee Arti Doctor may sting the male ego from time to time with a fair strength of 31 runners for the monsoon thus far. The siblings have 50-plus runners each under their folds, apart from their strings of two-year-olds. Schooler Shafiq Khan has been given an ‘A’ licence this season.

The other trainers with ‘A’ licences who will be worth following are Bath (20 runners and 7 two-year-olds), Daniel David (23 runners) and Javed Khan (36 runners and 9 two-year-olds). Among the jockeys, the indomitable Christopher Alford (who has been performing brilliantly at Bangalore) and Shailesh Shinde are likely to be in the forefront early in the season.

Other than those who have summered well at Bangalore, the local three-year-olds to look out for during the forthcoming classics are Dandified, Petalloid, Poles Apart, Raznandan, Manhattan Pride, Alienation and Amor Amor.

The clerk-of-the-course is of the opinion that the prized monsoon track at this centre will be suitable for good racing from day one although it may be a trifle on the slower side. The handicapper is looking forward to the season ahead. He is confident of carrying on the good work of the last winter meet when close handicapping resulted in even closer finishes and brought punters to edge of their seats on many occasions.

The old Baqlava Lounge named after the legendary brown English gelding has been converted into a well-equipped Jockeys’ Room, Weighing Room, Medical Room and also houses a well- appointed lounge for the Club members.