The abrupt manner in which racing in India was forced to grind to a halt in mid-March meant that champions at each of the centres where the 2019-2020 meeting was curtailed were not officially declared. What was however notifiedwas the news that that the remainder of each of the incomplete meetings had been cancelled. Common sense suggests that whoever was leading the tables as on the date of cessation should be declared the seasonal champion in each category. There is no Duckworth-Lewis formula for horse racing! 

This is in contrast to the English Premier League, where the stakes are much higher and the consequences more long-lasting, particularly those relating to the qualification for the Champions League in 2021. Here bizarre options – like declaring that the season never took place – were being weighed at one time! Finally, it has been confirmed that the season will actually resume on June 17th, albeit without spectators and with five substitutions allowed per side.

Of the seven centres in India that raced in 2018-19, Hyderabad and Mysore had concluded their Winter meetings at the time all racing was stopped, so are not being discussed here. Their champions are already known. That leaves Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Madras.Using the database of Galaxy Bloodstock Services, Inc., rankings have been calculated.

Owners have been ranked by earnings, which is as it should be. The world over, the leading trainer title is decided by prize money earned by the wards of the trainers, and not by number of wins. In India, number of wins is the criterion and that is what has been used here. Jockeys are almost always ranked by no. of wins, so there are no surprises there. Finally, it’s hard to find a ranking of stud farms anywhere outside India – what are ranked are breeders – but the local convention has been adhered to. 

Due to the difficulty of access to reference material during the prolonged lockdown, the data has not been audited. As such, the conclusions reached must be taken as tentative. Why publish them, then? Because there is a gaping void in any information related to the Indian Turf during this pandemic. Hence I have followed the dictum propounded by the 1st Duke of Wellington, former Governor of Mysore and Seringapatam, who is reported to have said when being blackmailed “Publish and be damned”!

Bangalore Winter Meeting  

The brilliant exploits of War Hammer (by Air Support) enabled Dr. C.A. Prashant and partners to lead the owners’ table, and contributed significantly to his trainer P. Prasanna Kumar’s numbers, giving him a 1 win lead over Suleiman Attaollahi and S. Padmanabhan. The energetic Trevor Patel, who was on the go all over India throughout the winter, eked out a narrow victory over David Allan and S. John to retain his crown. From producing the dregs of Indian racing society in the ‘seventies and ‘eighties of the last century, the Kunigal Stud Farm shot to pre-eminence amongst the nation’s Thoroughbred nurseries in the last decade or two, thanks largely to the efforts of the much-maligned Vijay Mallya. It has continued its multi-year domination of the Bangalore winter meeting.  

Bombay Meeting  

Once again it was War Hammer, who needed but a single start in the Kingfisher Ultra Indian Derby, that was responsible for propelling Dr. C.A. Prashant and partners to the owners’ championship. In Western India, it’s been hard to beat Pesi Shroff in the race for the trainers’ championship and he kept his appointed place at the head of the table for leading trainer. The jockeys’ title fell to A. Sandesh in the same season in which he completed 1,000 career wins. Nanoli-foaled youngsters helped the farm notch up a comfortable lead over the products of the Usha Stud. 

Calcutta Meeting  

The sole racecourse in the East, Calcutta has a long and storied history. Earning a championship victory here musthave been a particularly cherished achievement for Subir Ranjan Dasgupta, owner/director of Cairnhill Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd.  Trainer Vijay Singh has proved uncatchable in his realm over the past few years and continues to occupy the top slot. Imran Chisty’s crown was a result of plenty of hard work as he journeyed to the ‘City Of Joy’ at least 15 times during the season! Finally, after a relatively lean patch, the Hazara Stud would surely have been pleased to return as the top stud farm.

Delhi Meeting  

The Delhi Race Club is unique in having a season that straddles two separate racing years. Following the precedent set by the Stud Book Authority of India, racing in the national capital from November 1st onwards forms the dataset for these statistics. A great enthusiast of horse racing, Mrs. Anita Chauhan took the top spot amongst owners. Perennial leader Magan B. Singh had a comfortable lead in the trainers’ list while a pair of jockeys – Akash Rajput and S.G. Prasad – shared top billing amongst riders. A substantial number of Delhi-based horses hail from the nearby Sohna Stud and that is amongst the factors that assisted that farm to claim the championship.

Madras Meeting

With some of the best horse-flesh anywhere in the country, the Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar Of Chettinad Charitable Trust packed too many guns for its rivals and comfortably prevailed in the owners’ tally, earning more than twice as much as the next in the list. Although J. Sebastian does harbour a few Trust-owned runners, he trains chiefly for a multitude of other owners, so much so that he was an easy winner of the trainers’ title. Perhaps Umesh Chougule spent more time in the saddle than on the ground! His tenacity and work ethic meant he was a runaway winner of the jockeys’ title at Guindy. Emulating its feat in Calcutta, the Hazara Stud topped the stud farm list, well clear of the rest.