The murder was fiction but thankfully the cool watermelon mojitos were real at an event held at the Mahalaxmi racecourse over the weekend, a discussion about the fictional crime thriller: ‘Murder at the Racecourse’ by lawyer and writer Berjis Desai. This is Desai's—who is a horse owner and served as racing steward (stewards ensure that races are run fairly within the rules)—fourth book. His other three books are ‘Towers of Silence’, ‘Oh Those Parsis’ and ‘The Bawaji’.

Intrigue, scandal

The book, ‘Murder at the Racecourse’ also  slices open the darker underbelly of racing—intrigue, scandal, cheating and betrayal. Event anchor Vivek Jain, who gave a succinct introduction of the writer and his work at the outset said with a laugh, “the book’s twists ’n’ turns remind me of the fighting as the high stakes RWITC elections loomed every year. Not any more though”. The audience comprising primarily of those linked with racing in different capacities looked amused. Jain added, “Initially, there were a few in the RWITC committee who had some reservations about holding this book discussion at the racecourse stating that the book highlighted negative aspects about the sport. Yet, we know there are some ills and one cannot simply wish them away.”