Vivek Jain persuades Vijay Mallya to restore sponsorship fully - Rs. 6 Crore
Posted on - 10 Dec 2015
Vivek Jain persuades Vijay Mallya to restore sponsorship fully – Rs. 6 Crore
Afternoon
The Mumbai Season has barely started, and the new RWITC Committee has come out with all guns blazing, and has won the appreciation of a wide section of members.
THE INDIAN DERBY SPONSORSHIP
Even though informed of the imminent withdrawal of their sponsorship to the previous Committee as early as July, who took no effective steps, the new team and the Marketing Committee led by Vivek Jain left no stone unturned to not only get United Spirits to re instate half their contribution, which came to 6 crores for two years, but also got on board United Breweries as a joint sponsor, to ensure the race is run without any loss of prize money and to make it the first ever jointly branded Derby.
This is seen as a greater feather in the cap of Vivek Jain and Zavaray Poonawalla, as the loss of the Derby sponsorship would surely have been a serious setback to the RWITC in a difficult financial year. In addition The RWITC can even get on board other contributors for the day which can help raise funds for the marketing and promotion spend, which is a huge benefit. It is believed Kingfisher is in the running for the renewal of the Derby contract after 2017, and Mr Jain has also approached international entities.
TITLE RIGHTS FOR EVENING RACING GO TO MR ZAVARAY POONAWALLA
Chairman Zavaray Poonawalla dug into his pockets to voluntarily offer 1 crore + for the title rights to sponsor Evening Racing this season at Mumbai. Inspite of this magnanimous offer the opposition to the ruling regime did not accept it, and the first corollary was the Committee tendering to obtain offers, though this was never followed for any of the Indian Classics or the Pune Derby and indeed not even for the Indian Derby.Sponsorship by the RWITC has almost always come through goodwill and rapport the Club has enjoyed with its partners.
As was expected not only did the Club not get a better offer, it got no offer for Evening Racing rights. So Mr Zavaray it is, who proved his bid was genuine and indeed the Club Committee ought to have welcomed it rather than finding ways to put every impediment it could.
The Evening Racing and Marketing Groups are jointly working to make these days beat to music, fashion, food and carnivals and Kingfisher is already on board as an associate partner.
FOOD, SHOPPING, CARNIVALS LIGHT UP RACING WEEKENDS
The RWITC has planned a packed calendar of events, leisure and entertainment to bring racing days to life. The Stylecracker Burough saw a huge attendance to shop, drink and get exposed to racing. Next came the German run Christmas Festival, always a big occasion for families. Coming weekend is The Eat India Fest, with several top end restaurants offering food and drink on the weekend, in addition to sponsoring the Indian 1,000 Guineas. No Club does as much to promote the sport.
STEWARDING SEEN TO BE FAIR AND FIRM
Under the Chairmanship of first time incumbent, Gulam Vahanvaty, the Stewards room has a more professional look. Decisions to reduce the sentences of trainers Pesi Shroff and M K Jadhav were seen to be meritorious without any political agenda. Meetings have been held in a free and frank manner with the trainers, with Mr Vahanvaty leading from the front, and at whose initiative a panel of experts is being formed to guide the Stewards on tricky medication enquiries. Strong measures are being taken to improve security and vigilance.
One thing is clear, the entire team is seen working as a hard working united force, covering every aspect of the Club.
