The Mysore Race Club has been a very busy racing centre for the last few years. A Club which used to have racing only during the period August-October, is now holding three seasons in a calendar year. The principal season continues to be from August to October, during which period the Club conducts its Classics along with some well endowed races for three year olds. During the main season, many top class and well performed horses are moved from Bangalore to Mysore to take part in the proceedings. The so called smaller seasons held in summer and winter are restricted to horses based at Mysore. These seasons were originally introduced to accommodate horses which were six year olds and over, and, had to move out of the BTC premises unless they were rated in the highest Class. In recent times, it has been noticed that older horses from Hyderabad and some from Western India have been moved here after ending their racing careers at their parent centres. In terms of sheer numbers, the Mysore Race Club has shown the fastest growth in the last ten years and is now in the process of improving the quality of horses participating at their centre. The Race Club had the unique distinction of having its stables located a couple of Kms. away from the premises of the race course. Some while ago, the local Government decided to reposess that area and offered the Race Club an alternative site measuring approximately 15 acres at the base of Chamundi Hills. Since this proposal was on an ownership basis, the authorities at MRC were quick to accept the decision of the Government. They planned to build 600 stables and a veterinary hospital on that site. It is learnt that the matter has got into a dispute and the project has therefore got delayed. The Club is hopeful of resolving the issue without much delay. In the meantime, the MRC is going ahead with building 300 permanent stables inside the race course. This project is due to start in the next couple of days and is proposed to be completed before August of this year. The funding for this project is in place. In an informal discussion with Indiarace, the Secretary of the Mysore Race Club, Ananthraj Urs highlighted the above and confirmed that the Summer Season shall start from 21st of May. The season shall comprise of 20 day’s of racing and shall be held over 10 weeks. The racing shall be conducted on all Wednesdays and Thursdays during this period. The stake money on offer shall be at the same level as the previous season. The Club plans to make a substantial increase in the stakes for the main season commencing in August. There are currently more than 400 horses stationed at Mysore. A large percentage of these horses are housed in temporary stables and this is a matter of concern to the authorities. The track is in great shape since the city has been blessed with exceptional rainfall during the past six weeks. The racing is expected to be keen and competitive. The Mysore Race Club has always been considered by the uninformed to be a subsidiary of the BTC. It is not uncommon to hear murmurs of discontent amongst the professionals about a threat to transfer non performers from BTC to MRC. The times are set to change. The MRC is finally emerging as an independent entity. More and more owners are buying 2 year olds to be raced exclusively at that centre. The recent auctions saw some expensive purchases being made by Mysore based trainers. It is pretty evident that this process shall ultimately lead to a younger lot of horses racing at this centre. The day may not be far when it may become difficult for owners to bring old and dickey legged horses from other centres to race at Mysore.