ROLF’s RAMBLINGS
racing matters – even when it is under attack
by Rolf Johnson
I went into the Mysore GPO to send postcards to the UK. The man behind the counter asked: “Mail speedy or ordinary sir?”
“Speedy certainly,” I replied.
“Sorry sir, ‘Speedy gone”.
After a polite exchange on the efficacy of modern postal services, as I left he called out: “How are you getting back to UK sir?”
“Speedy,” I retorted. But I was getting ahead of myself.
Three disasters occurred on our recent India trip. I won’t put them in order of importance because my forecast, that staging the Dubai World Cup was impossible, was as wide of the mark as most of the two thousand missiles already fired at the UAE.
The besieged Gulf states cancelled both the Bahrain and Saudi Grand Prix, international boxing, soccer and cricket yet one journalist dismissed the incoming barrage as “distractions” to the racing. They didn’t ‘frighten the horses’ and the World Cup went ahead with the right results, almost. The world’s best racehorse Calandagan proved that whatever he could achieve in the UK, France and Japan he could do likewise in Dubai, while the similarly odds on Ombudsman justified the Gosden team’s trip with his £2.1 million victory – as opposed to Kempton the same day, where they also won the big race, £51,500.
The world’s highest-rated dirt horse, Japan’s iconic Forever Young, who had £22 million in the bank, ‘only’ added one and three-quarter million for second place in the featured Dubai World Cup. Whatever American tribulations in the Gulf War at least their Meydan representative Magnitude ‘maxed’, defeating Forever Young and collecting five and a half million pounds sterling.
More menacing than missiles and robbing us of our purpose in India, was the deadly equine glanders disease which caused cancellation of India’s Royal Ascot, the Invitation Cup scheduled for the ancient southern city of Mysore (now called Mysuru).
Not far from Mysore (original anglicized name; can’t get used to the change) we would have visited Kunigal, the oldest stud farm in India, to see their newest stallion, Economics, the former William Haggas-trained Irish Champion Stakes winner. We were en route when we heard Economics had died of colic.
Last but not least of our concerns was the persistence of the Gulf War which kicked off during our stay. The Emirates Airline flight home, via Dubai, was cancelled, repeatedly, and it looked as though we were stranded, until Oman Air found us seats. We half expected the stewardess to demonstrate how to inflate flak jackets as our Boeing 737 swerved drones and the Straits of Ormuz, crossed Saudi and Egypt and landed us in Rome.
The last leg was Easyjet to Gatwick. We beat the postcards.
In Delhi we’d harangued hapless travel agents. But we’d always intended to visit India’s top stud farm Usha, less than an hour south of the capital, where Ameeta Mehra’s hospitality is legendary. Ameeta stands five stallions and 120 mares, one of which is the dam of the filly who beat Awaken in the Rockfel.
Usha translates as dawn, the light out of darkness, in a setting of greenery unimaginable just a few miles off the belching highway back to choking central Delhi.
Ameeta took control when most of her family were killed in a helicopter crash over twenty years ago. She has regularly been India’s champion breeder: Kirsten Rausing would be our nearest equivalent.
Staging the Dubai World Cup at the epicentre of a war recalls the football match played by troops in First World War no man’s land Christmas, 1914. (USA are due to meet Iran in the forthcoming football World Cup). No such truce yet in the Gulf and that the exotic Dubai race meeting went ahead at Meydan is testament to the sport’s importance – a fact that surely must be respected in our own turbulent times.
At Usha I was introduced to Ameeta’s associate, Hemant Lamba. His paper on reviving racing in India – down from 127 tracks at Independence in 1947 to the current seven – has any amount of savvy that we could copy. He will forgive me for editing his comprehensive conclusions.
Field Interview Report – Derby Day, Mahalakshmi Racecourse,
Royal Western India Turf Club, Mumbai.
Purpose:
The purpose of these informal field interviews was to understand how young people perceive horse racing when they encounter it without prior exposure or conditioning. The interviews aimed to capture motivations, emotional responses, barriers, and latent interest areas such as betting, ownership, and repeat visits.
Methodology:
● Interviewers: Joydeep Datta Gupta and Hemant Lamba
● Date: Sunday, 1 February 2026 (Indian Derby Day)
● Attendance: Approximately 15,000 people
● Method: Short, conversational interviews conducted randomly
Note: This exercise was intended to capture patterns and sentiment rather than statistical precision.
Key Conclusions:
Youth interest exists and is strong when barriers of awareness and intimidation are removed.
Horse racing’s core strengths—beauty, speed, heritage, thrill—resonate deeply with Gen Z.
Betting is not the primary hook; experience and participation matter more (though betting is integral).
Micro-ownership - syndicates represent high-potential engagement models.
Small, thoughtful improvements in facilities and communication could significantly boost repeat attendance.
These field interviews strongly indicate that Indian horse racing can successfully reposition itself for a new generation well beyond the traditional betting audience.
Recommendations:
There is clear demand for racing as wholesome entertainment. There is also keen interest in micro-ownership of horses. The present branding seems to be unbalanced in favour of “Come to the Derby” – an isolated if important occasion - rather than “Come Racing”.
Over more than two decades, Hemant Lamba has maintained a close professional association with Ameeta Mehra, collaborating across governance, education initiatives, and institutional development at the Auroville Foundation in South India – the unique international township on the Bay of Bengal which harbours arguably the newest wonder of the world. The MatriMandir – think of a gold golf ball the size of the London Eye.
Hemant’s objective is to lift Indian racing onto the world’s sporting roundabout. “Building global partnerships within the thoroughbred ecosystem: you ask for bread. I will bring a bakery” he says jovially. Worthy sentiments when Indian racing is under existential threat – and where have we heard that before?
If only Hemant and Rupert Fowler, racehorse owner and powerhouse behind Sports 4 Causes, sharing infectious enthusiasm in pursuit of their racing goals were in league. Based in Hungerford, Berks, Rupert like Hemant. Both are driving, foot down, to reinvigorate racing’s audiences by promoting racehorse ownership through campaigns for increased participation, both allied with support for racing charities.
In his introductory notes Rupert states that the objective is to “attract new owners by offering access to the experience for a day. We use our relationships with BHA’s Great British Racing, Rewards4Racing, Racing Welfare, The Tote and Venatour Racing Travel, to name but a few, to promote our product. Newbury Racecourse market us on their website as a ticket alternative. More tracks will follow suit.”
His idea embodies plain common sense – that everybody in the crowd is engaged in the action. This must be the answer to capturing audiences; put bluntly in racing’s case, recapturing them. In the same way football or cricket or rugby fans dedicate themselves to a lifelong umbilical attachment to their club (and darts and snooker to individual stars) racing fans have vested interests in the stars – the racehorses and jockeys. When Constitution Hill turns up, so do the people. How much was done to capture them for the next meeting – five at Kempton in nine days – is another matter.
Rupert and Hemant have researched and are practising on, so far, parallel lines in what might be considered vastly different circumstances. But all racing has a common denominator – the horse. A broader public is being offered the unique ownership experience of the stars of the show. The buzz word is involvement, racing matters – even when it is under attack.