The Mahalaxmi racecourse this Sunday (February 5) will host theu00a0 country's greatest racing event -- the 2012,u00a0 Indian Derby (Gr 1).

The Mahalaxmi racecourse of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) Ltd is the place where people who love horses and races gather to enjoy their hobby. Not everyone you find here is obsessed with gambling.
Racing is fast turning into a lifestyle sport, and more people are discovering this is one of the best places to celebrate life -- and horses!

From horse owners who enjoy watching their horses, to trainers who care for them, to jockeys who ride them, to people who throng the paddock to have a look at them -- the common thread that binds everyone here is their love for horses. You can see it in everyone's eyes. Chances are, you too will fall in love with nature's most exquisite (and athletic!) creation, and wonder if you could come here often.

The Mahalaxmi racetrack is regarded, even by foreign riders who come here often, as one of the best in the world? It is a 2,400-metre (mile-and-a-half long) turf track, oval in shape, with the winning post bang opposite the Members' stand.

The Derby starts from just opposite the club members' stand, and the horses make one complete round of the oval to come back at the same place from where they start, to pass the winning post.
All its turns have such perfect banking and easy angles that horses and jockeys rarely have to compromise with their speed while negotiating them.

The Mahalaxmi racetrack plays host to all the five Indian Classics (Derby is one of them) during the Mumbai season which starts around mid-November every year and stretches up to the end of April next year.