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Well-groomed’ Mumbai Season Gets the Leg-up
By Mahendra Mallya | 11 Nov 2010 | MUMBAI
The stage is set for another electrifying Mumbai Racing Season and the RWITC’s enormous efforts in putting together a promising 42-day season is ‘in the gates’. With a record Rs 20 crore as total stakes, the Mumbai Meeting 2010-11 will by far be the richest in the history of the sport. The customary pre-season press conference held at the Card room of the Club on the 11th of November, culminated with cocktails and dinner on the adjoining lawns. The media representatives and a fairly good number of members and guests were made comfortable by the pleasing ambience of the venue.
All apprehensions with regard to the scheduled start of the season were cleared at the very start of the conference. Mr Shivlal Daga, a senior committee member and the Chairman of the Stewards of the Club, opened his address by saying that the first day of the season will start as scheduled. “I have been receiving numerous calls from the fraternity as to the status of the stables, whether the unseasonal November showers had caused more damage. I personally took a tour of the stable area and have been inspecting the area ever since the rains. I assure you that barring a few stables, the rest are ready for occupation. The affected stables are in the first line and the officials concerned are doing a fine job in ensuring that these niggles too are set right. There is no cause for concern and the start of the season is well in place. We shall have racing on the Mahalaxmi turf this Sunday (14/11) as scheduled,” said Mr Daga confidently.
Mr Vivek Jain, Chairman RWITC, then took over and elaborated on the highlights of the season. He ran through the high points of the season with impeccable panache, mentioning all relevant highs of the season and expressing the Club’s gratitude and appreciation to every sponsor the Club is associated with, singling out each one them in his acknowledgement. He was impressive, to-the-point, yet managed to provide a complete insight on what’s in store this season.
The McDowell Signature Indian Derby (GR1) expectedly takes the prime spot as the Country’s richest race. “With a purse of an unprecedented Rs 2.5 crore as stakes, the Derby offers the highest prize money for a single event in any sport in the land. Dr Vijay Mallya’s association with the Indian Derby has crossed the 25-year mark and we look forward to take this association for another 25 years ahead,” said Mr Jain. The Derby day is a landmark for the Mumbai races and each year it has gained in popularity. This trend will only move forward and the race gets top billing.
“The Invitation Cup has come as a bonus to the RWITC. It was the turn of the Madras Race Club to host the Invitation weekend. When they said they were unable to do so, we took upon the task of staging it in Mumbai again. Fortunately, in HDIL, who have been our sponsors for the Indian Oaks for some time now, we found a willing partner to host the big event. HDIL will now sponsor the Invitation Cup and the Stayers’ Cup. Mr Shapoor Mistry has agreed to sponsor the Sprinters’ Cup in honour of the great sprint queen Oasis Star. Ameeta Mehra’s Usha Stud Farm, will sponsor the PK Mehra Super Mile. The stakes for these races have been enhanced as well and will match the glitter of the Derby weekend,” Mr Jain informed.
The Multi-Million and the Million races will roll out each Sunday through most of the prime season. The Classics apart, the sponsored races have been broadened to offer healthy stakes to older horses, the juveniles and to handicap races as well. This is seen as a welcome move that ensures a relatively fair distribution of stakes.
Adding to the list of high profile races and with a view to generate keener competitiveness, the RWITC has coined an interesting nine-furlong race, open to horses four years old and over. The TATA Housing – Prive’ Karl Umrigar Turf Championship has all the ingredients to provide a tougher challenge to horses from different crops. With stakes as high as Rs 5 Million, the race would be a fitting replacement to the Indian St Leger which returns to Pune where it was traditionally run earlier. Planned towards the end of the season in memory of the Champion jockey Karl Umrigar, this new race, on the lines of the Breeders’ Cup, is sure to be a top draw.
Mr Jain also emphasized that the Club had taken serious note of the Running Bull tragedy in Pune. Taking remedial measures to ensure that there are no recurrences of such mishaps, the Club is in the process of procuring the ‘most modern starting gates in the world’ sourced from Australia. These are expected to be operational early in the New Year.
Other Highlights:
* ET Now to telecast Races
* CCTV upgraded to digital format and additional cameras will be placed providing newer angles.
* Media Partnership with Mid-day tabloid.
* Rwitc.com, the Club’s official website, will be the first in the country to show its racing live.
* Presence on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
* Dress Code to be made obligatory on special days.
* Two new electronic screens will be installed, displaying information and images.
* “Celebrate the Spirit of the Season” dinner for invitees on 19th November.
* A New Year Eve bash in the pipeline.
The RWITC is leaving no stone unturned to project racing as a true King of Sports. Applying all the modern channels of networking the Club is on the right course in scaling the Corporate Social Responsibility. The efforts of Mr Vivek Jain and his team have been tremendous. The Sponsors are upbeat. On the racing front, there can be no better action than on the Mahalaxmi track. In Mr Jain’s own words, “We are a distance ahead of the rest in the country.” It’s show time and Mumbaikars now have a better option for a Sunday afternoon.
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