RWITC brings Queen's Necklace to Mahalaxmi - By Usman Rangeela | Mumbai Mirror
Posted on - 08 Jan 2016
RWITC brings Queen's Necklace to Mahalaxmi
Usman Rangeela in Mumbai usman rangila TWEET @ MumbaiMirror
The managing committee of the Royal Western India Turf Club was pleasantly surprised with the magnificent response to its maiden sundown racing venture it hosted on an experimental basis at the end of the racing season last summer. Buoyed by this success, the turf club administration assured race-goers that night racing will be a permanent feature of their racing programme and they would return next season with a much better and bigger version of the game.
The Zavaray Poonawalla led RWITC committee has kept its promise and, evidently. scaled up the standard of night-racing to an extent that the mile-long section of the Mahalaxmi Race Course track is illuminated such that it bears remarkable similarity to the famed Queen's Necklace of Marine Drive.
The race-track and the turf club's heritage structures will stand in resplendent glory after being lit up for the inaugural night and the party is expected to continue till the end of the current racing season in April though intermittently.
Although the club had to dig into its reserves for the capital expenditure on night racing, which is likely to reach the Rs 10 crore mark, Poonawalla has helped the cause by pitching in nearly crore-and-half rupees for the title sponsorship, which takes care of the running costs incurred on a day to-day basis.
There is some uncertainty at this stage regarding when United Breweries will be coming aboard as co-sponsor for the night-racing series this year, but if it does soon and taking into account UB group's marketing skills, the turf lawns will have soon rediscovered their lost sheen.
THRILLS AND FRILLS
The RWITC's marketing team has spent hours in planning the night-racing event, which will literally start with a bang. A grand display of fireworks and a laser show will trigger the celebrations as the sun disappears into the Arabian Sea today. The next hour, from 7 to 9 p.m. will see three events being run under the floodlights including the Zavaray Poonawalla Evening Racing Triple Million, one of the richest juvenile races this season.
A competitive field of fifteen horses will face the starter for the main event and the winning connections stand to gain nearly two million rupees apart from the huge silver trophy.
Adequate food and beverages stalls have been arranged by the club to ensure that the families feel at home while they are at the racecourse. Even the charges for using mobile phones during races have been reduced drastically.
All in all, the club has made a remarkable effort to woo youngsters and there is no reason why they would not succeed in making Mahalaxmi racecourse, the city's newest entertainment destination.
