Bipasha and Minissha at RWITC inaugural Race Day

The highly anticipated Racing Season 2011-12 in Mumbai finally got underway with the prestigious Audelaide Million race this afternoon. The RWITC has pulled out all the stops in its endeavour to make this season bigger and better than ever, for both the viewers and participants alike and the Audelaide Million turned out to be just the spectacular start they were hoping for! In attendance was the crème de la crème of Mumbai’s society, in all their sartorial splendour, which turned out in droves to usher in the racing season despite the sultry weather.

The lush green turf beckoned, the stands were packed with racing aficionados eager to catch a glimpse of some high octane action, the air was abuzz with palpable excitement and the stage was set for a crackling contest. Actor Bipasha Basu was the Guest of Honour at the marquee event. The Million race sponsored by Audelaide is one of the most eagerly awaited and big ticket events on the racing calendar and it sure did live up to its top billing! On a bright sunny afternoon, amidst cheers and adulation, it was ‘OUR CHIEFTAN’ who won the race owned by Dr.M.A.M. Ramaswamy, trained by Kartik Ganpathy.

If the action on the field was stupendous, then there was a whole more in store for those in attendance off the turf! The celebrities whilst enjoying the comforts of the VIP air conditioned tent and a sumptuous spread of eats and drinks were entertained to a Vikram Phadnis fashion show; underscoring the RWITC’s promise that this season wouldn’t just be about top notch horse racing. All in all, it turned out to be a fabulous start to the season…glamour, fashion, style and oomph…celebs, aficionados, culinary delights and of course some scintillating action that scorched the turf…was all on show as the racing season galloped off the blocks in fine fashion with the Audelaide Million.

After the race, Vivek Jain, Chairman, RWITC; handed over a memento to Bipashu Basu for gracing the occasion. He said, “We’ve strived hard in the build up to the season to ensure that this season goes down as one of the best of all time! We’ve improved the infrastructure around the race course, raised the prize money, and attendance was up by almost 15%, clearly indicative of the huge interest the season’s inaugural race has created! Bipashu Base stole the show as the Guest of Honour and on the whole it turned out to be a fantastic inaugural event! This season it only gets bigger, better and faster!”

Actor Bipashu Basu commented, “I’d like to thank the RWITC for inviting me as the Guest of Honour for this huge event. It has been a real privilege! It has been an awesome day, both on and off the track and all I could hear was ‘out of the way’ no pun intended as that was the name of the most popular horse.”