"I happily step down for a sabbatical after a long tedious journey of more than two years, steering the ship through rough waters in perhaps the most difficult times in Indian horse racing history,” noted Zavaray Poonawalla, chairman of the Royal Western India
Turf Club (RWITC), in a letter dated December 24, 2021 addressed to the members ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) on December 30. "During the pandemic crises, good planning and calculative decisions to run the Club were of utmost importance… After bringing things under good control, we have been able to reinstate salaries, motivate our staff, increase the stake money to levels never before by utilizing good ideas and courage, and finally putting money where our mouth is,” he added. Feeling that his health was getting neglected due to his "continued devotion to the Club,” Poonawalla planned to recover, rejuvenate and spend time with the family.
He was particularly appreciative of the cooperation and largesse of his committee members. The nine members elected on the 2021 committee included five other Parsis: Jehangir Damania, Khushroo Dhunjibhoy, Zinia Lawyer, Darashaw Mehta and Jehangir Mehta.
While the season in Poona generally lasts from July to October, and in Bombay from November to April, after a prolonged hiatus, the racing season in Bombay commenced on December 16, 2021. But with Omicron looming on the horizon, the future of racing continues to be uncertain. Prior to the pandemic, "the cumulative annual (physical) attendance in Bombay/Poona (was) close to one million making racing the most widely watched spectator sport in the country,” noted the RWITC website.
With the magnanimity of sponsors, the prospectus for the racing season in Bombay from December 2021 to April 2022 was finalized. "To instate this program without straining our Club finances, I have pledged to fulfill any shortfalls or defaults in sponsorships up to Rs 20 crores for these 22 days which includes my personal sponsorships of more than two crores,” mentioned Poonawalla in an earlier letter dated November 25. Besides the Poonawalla Group, other Parsi sponsors who have been associated with the racing fraternity over the years are Shapoorji Pallonji, the Forbes group, Noshir Irani, Homi Mehta and Rusi Patel (to ch) who feature on the RWITC website.
Above: Dr Cyrus and Zavaray Poonawalla (5th and 6th from l) with family
and other members; top (r): Zavaray Photo: Jasmine D. Driver
"Whilst your committee is also trying to explore other new and permitted means to bring additional income, it is time that members make a united attempt for survival of this esteemed Club…in these times of pandemic,” noted a circular ahead of the 106th AGM on December 30. Mailed to over 10,000 RWITC members, their notice announced a proposed resolution that all Club, Life and Stand members who have not completed 70 years should contribute a sum of Rs 5,000 annually for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. This sum to be raised as "Pandemic Relief to the Club,” was expected to defray the sports Club’s "high maintenance costs, impending costs of lease, huge license fee for conducting horse racing activity and heavy taxes.”
Included on RWITC’s 225-acre Mahalaxmi campus is the 2,400 m oval shaped race track, rated among the best in Asia, in addition to a Club House, Gallops restaurant and Tote on the Turf, notes its website rwitc.com. A public garden in the center of the race course and a walking/jogging track for free public use are also maintained by RWITC.