Rotary Centennial Race

The Mahalakshmi Racecourse in Mumbai came alive to the rhythmic thumping of horses on November 20 as the Rotary E-club of Mumbai Aces, D 3141, hosted the Rotary Centennial Race, a day-long celebration marking 100 years of TRF.

While jockeys mounted on their thoroughbreds vied with one another on the sprawling race turf to win the coveted prize, the area was abuzz with more activity — live music performances, a watering hole offering cocktails and mocktails, supplemented with gourmet delights, flea market, fashion show, the Rotary Queen pageant and talent hunt for kids — it was a carnival enjoyed by over 5,000 people, including Rotarians, Rotaractors and Inner Wheel members.

The programme also meant business. It was a fundraiser for TRF. About $210,000 was collected through entry tickets pegged at Rs 500 per person, raffles and cups for the winners sponsored by Rotary clubs on payment of $30,000 each. The Million Race Cup was sponsored by the host club member Munjal Sharad Shah and the cups for the six premium races were sponsored by Rotary Clubs of ­Bombay, Queen’s Necklace, Queen City, Bombay Pier, Mumbai Cuffe Parade and Bombay Bay View.

The highlight of the day was surpassing of a Guinness World Record for the largest horseshoe measuring 2.32×2.32m which was displayed on the turf. The record was previously held by the Kentucky Derby Museum which had a horseshoe of 2.11×2.11m.

The premier event was attended by TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan ­Banerjee, Trustee Sushil Gupta, RID Manoj Desai and PRID Ashok ­Mahajan. District governors — past and serving — from the district and its neighbours too were present. Rajan Dua was the Project Convener. n