Once upon a time, a decade or so ago, ‘It’s the first Sunday of February, all roads lead to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse,’ screamed every Indian Derby advertisement be it the city’s prominent newspapers, on a billboard, banner or the quintessential race book – the Cole Race Card. The charisma of the most important race in the Indian racing calendar was such that the Mahalaxmi racecourse was the must-attend venue on Derby day for the city’s socialites and celebrities alike, though they may not have known much about a filly or a colt.

The McDowell’s Indian Derby, as it was famously known for 18 years till it was last hosted in 2022, was sponsored by the UB Group. It was Vijay Mallya’s unstinted support for the Derby which took India’s marquee horseracing event to dizzying heights both in terms of highest stake money and getting unparalleled media coverage. That golden era of horseracing in Western India suddenly came to an end with the exit of the liquor baron from the scene. The racecourse – the playground for the bold and beautiful on Derby day, soon became deserted.

Despite this setback, the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) believed that ‘the show must go on’, come what may. Consequently, the country’s premier turf club has assiduously sought and secured new sponsors for the Indian Derby. The Horse Power Sports League (HPSL) will be sponsoring this classic event for the second year running, which has sixteen contenders vying for fame. Due to the late entry fee paid by the owners of five horses to take a shot at the Indian Derby, the stake money on offer this year has almost touched the three crore rupee figure. And, despite the euphoria among the elite about attending the races may have fizzled out, the 83rd running of the Indian Derby will still attract a sizeable crowd at Mahalaxmi on Sunday.

Whilst hosting the biggest race of the country, the RWITC has also kept its focus on making this week’s racing a huge success. There are various prizes including a million rupees in cash through a lucky draw on offer by individual sponsors and to top it all, the turf club expects the Jackpot Pool collection to cross the magical one crore rupee mark.