Night racing, highest stakemoney main highlights of Mumbai racing season

Representational image. Pic/iStock

The lush green Mahalaxmi racetrack will come alive to the sound of thundering hooves on Sunday with an inaugural card of seven races. The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has chalked up 22 days of high quality racing spread over four and a half months, 11 of them will be under flood lights, culminating in a grand finale of night racing over the first weekend of April next year.

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The RWITC continues to make a serious bid to reclaim its position as premier racing venue of the country by offering the highest stakemoney in every race category. The turf club has also thrown open its doors for outstation trainers who wish to permanently shift their racing operations to Mumbai and Pune.

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The marketing team, headed by Shiven Surendranath, has roped in sponsors for all the Classics and important graded races. Both the Indian 1000 & 2000 Guineas (December 11 & December 18) will be sponsored by Betway, while the Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks (Jan 15) will be supported by Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla. A new sponsor, Jagatjit Industries Ltd, steps in to sponsor the Indian Derby (February 5) with a six-year commitment.