dOSE (hORSE rACING iN iNDIA)

1. Pesi Shroff (b 1965) is a former Indian champion jockey. Shroff has ridden over 1740 winning horses including 106 classic horse races. He began his career as a 16-year old, when he was licensed to ride by the Royal Western India Turf Club in Mumbai in the 1981 season. He won his first race on My Squaw and then won several other horses, riding alongside several leading jockeys such as Vasant Shinde, Aslam Kader, Robin Corner, Malesh Narredu and Appu, both in the Indian race circuit and the international circuit.
2. Shroff has had a long association with Indian liquor baron, Vijay Mallya, having been a retainer for him for several years. Apart from Mallya, he has also been the retainer for M.A.M. Ramaswamy, Deepak Khaitan, and Khusro Dhunhjiboy.
3. Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling. The common sobriquet for Thoroughbred horse racing is The Sport of Kings.
4. In India, four Turf Authorities conduct horse racing.
5. Kolkata, a city of 15 million people, used to be the capital of British India until 1911. Today, the trophy awarded at the annual Queen's Cup race, held at the RCTC, is still signed and sent by Queen Elizabeth.
6. The Mahalaxmi Racecourse is a horse racing track in Mahalaxmi neighbourhood, of Mumbai. The track is oval shaped with a to 2400 m straight chute, spread over approx. 325 acres (1.32 km2) of open land in the heart of Mumbai city. It was created out of a marshy land known as Mahalakshmi Flats, a hundred years ago.
7. The McDowell's Indian Derby is a horse racing event held on the first Sunday of February at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai, India. It is one of the premier sporting activities in the city. It was first run in the year 1943.
8. The Royal Western India Turf Club is a sports elite club in Mumbai, India. It was formed in 1880, on reclaimed marshy land at Mahalaxmi. The club runs the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The racecourse was shifted from the Byculla Club to the present location in 1883.
9. Shri M. A. M. Ramaswamy, a politician from Janata Dal (Secular) party, is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. He is the Co-Founder & Pesent Chairman of Chettinad Group of Companies.He is also the Pro-Chancellor for Annamalai University, a prominent industrialist and winner of 500 horse racing classics.
10. ''Noble View,'' owned by M A M Ramaswamy, trained by R Foley and ridden by S Manohar, won ''M Vijayakrishna Memorial Cup, the main event of the races held IN november this year.