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MUMBAI RACING SEASON TO TAKE OFF THIS SUNDAY

By Mahendra Mallya | 19 Nov 2016 | MUMBAI


The charisma of Mumbai races can never fade away or diminish even slightly, no matter what happens in the world outside. The chaotic situation gripping the nation as a whole and racing in particular seeing troubled times, the Mumbai season promises to come good despite the turbulent times. The RWITC has done its best to showcase the best under the circumstances and this has been the characteristic of the powers that be at the RWITC to offer top notch racing year after year.

The professionals too have co-operated wholeheartedly understanding the tough situation that the club finds itself. They have taken the cut in stakes that the club has enforced as an interim measure to counter the cash crunch. This 50% cut in stake money will be reviewed after the first four meetings.  Efforts are also being made to introduce facilities of betting using credit and debit cards on the totes to counter the demonetization of currency.

The highlight of the season will surely be the Indian Derby (Gr1) and the four other Indian Classics. The United Spirits and United Breweries will once again join hands and the Indian Derby weekend will bloom under their method of entertainment blending with top notch racing action. The Stakes are expected to cross the Rs 3 crore mark, easily the highest prize money for an individual sporting event.  The other races during the Derby weekend also offer stakes over one million, hence the Derby weekend will be the richest in the country.

The Club has done commendably well in retaining and attracting sponsors. Contributions are at a healthy Rs 9.1 crore with every Sunday being a sponsored race right through the season. Most of the weekend racing will be laced by an array of entertainment and food festivals making it interesting for racegoers and other non-regulars as well. The contribution from first time sponsors too is close a Million which is remarkable considering the present times and the fact that racing is not the easiest sport to sell.

On the racing front, several high quality races with millions in stake money will keep the season at high in thrills and competitiveness. Around 32 races will have prize money crossing the Million-mark! The RWITC thus maintains its top ranking in providing high quality races right through the season.

The special day reserved for reputed Clubs which was a great success during the last season will see top clubs of Mumbai such as the Willingdon club, NSCL, Otters, CCI, Acres Club, Bombay Presidency Radio Club, Bombay Gymkhana and Malabar Hill Club, each sponsoring a trophy of their own.

The season will be punctuated with several food and fashion fests, with the likes of Stylecracker, Eat India Company and Trinity Entertainment and Design One being the highlight of such days. The fun-filled Indo-German Christmas Fest has been gaining in popularity and will bring in the Christmas spirit early December to Mumbai with the Oktoberfest to follow.

The RWITC has always given prominence to its CSR activities and as always certain race days are dedicated in raising funds for charity. This year too, the Indian Cancer Society and the Rotary, Lions Club and the Hunger India Foundation will enjoy a huge platform to showcase their cause and the members and racing public have always responded well to contribute to such noble causes.

Races are also marked in memory of those who are no longer amongst us. The club has always taken the initiative in instituting races in the name of those who have left their imprint and has always designed races to pay homage to such prominent persons.

The success of evening races was evident last year and this year too will see a good number of races after dusk. The 24th of November will kick off ‘night racing’ being the first of the scheduled 19 days of racing under lights. What makes the evening races so much more exciting is the assorted entertainment and a ‘Sundowner’ atmosphere will draw a much larger crowd other than regular racing patrons on all Thursdays and this has been done keeping the fall in attendance on weekday-racing.  

The RWITC has managed to keep the media partners rooting for the Club with Mid-Day, Hello! Forbes and G2, all enjoying a mutually fruitful association. The club has also roped in ET Now and this will do well for promoting racing in general with more presence on television.

The start looks a touch apprehensive with the current situation on cash restrictions, but the RWITC has always managed to weather the storms for decades. This year looks a lot more difficult than the previous years despite which the managing committee did not shy away and are ready to put up a good show as usual. Once the initial period is sustained, then things will fall in place and will look better as weeks go by. In his recent interview to indiarace, Chairman Mr Vivek Jain was vocal in stating that the unity within the committee room has been characteristic of a strong committee and as true lovers of the sport, the RWITC is determined to come out all guns blazing in ensuring a great season ahead. Despite being saddled with a million niggling issues, when push comes to a shove, trust the RWITC to emerge strongest. Indiarace wishes the RWITC a very successful season ahead and also wishing all racing enthusiasts a thoroughly enjoyable and profitable racing season.