Delhi Race Club in ruins as bulldozer growl replaces hoofbeats amid demolition drive

New Delhi: For nearly a century, the sound of hooves and the calls of trainers filled the Delhi Race Club, where the lives of generations of horses and people centred around racing.

On Thursday, that century-old legacy lay in shambles, its old stables reduced to rubble, hay scattered across broken bricks and the once-familiar sounds replaced by silence.

The Centre took possession of the Delhi Race Club on Lok Kalyan Marg in Lutyens' Delhi on Thursday after the Patiala House Court dismissed the club's plea seeking an interim stay on the August 11 eviction order passed by an estate officer under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.


Also read: Indian authorities remove unauthorised structures outside Pakistan High Commission

As the eviction order came into force, bulldozers brought down several historic structures at the club, including its stables, bookmakers' ring, winning post, photofinish camera and the saddling enclosure, which were once at the heart of horse racing in Delhi.

By the end of the day, the old stables looked nothing like the place where horses spent decades. Hay lay scattered among broken bricks and fallen walls, while the stalls where the thoroughbreds once stood lay in pieces.

The smell of the stables, the whinnying of horses and the constant movement of workers gave way to rubble and an uneasy quiet.

The stables, renovated in the 1940s, had been carefully built to protect the horses from Delhi's intense heat.

Wet gunny sacks were used to keep the interiors cool, and the design allowed proper ventilation, while the workers spent long hours feeding, grooming and training the horses.

Of the more than 250 horses housed at the racecourse, only 52 remain on the premises. Around 200 have been taken back by their owners, while the remaining are expected to be moved out in the next one or two weeks, a club official said.

"We have been given time till September 14 to sort everything out. We are planning to send the remaining horses to their owners in the next one or two weeks," he said.

Worth between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 50 lakh each, depending on their pedigree and racing record, the thoroughbreds are among the country's finest and most expensive racehorses.

Every few days, a horse float left the racecourse carrying these prized animals to new homes at racing centres across the country, sources said.

The owners have been moving their horses to race clubs in Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, the official said.

Older horses that are no longer fit for racing have been sold to riding schools, while some have been moved to a race facility in Meerut, he added.

Also read:

The workers said the horses were bred specifically for competitive racing, with some raised at breeding centres in India and others coming from places such as Italy and West Asia.

Their days followed a strict routine of food, exercise, grooming and veterinary care. A special feed containing nutrients, vitamins and minerals was prepared daily, with the horses closely monitored through the day.

"This place was built very meticulously so that the heat does not reach the horses, and there is proper ventilation inside," a worker said.

The workers said the delicate animals needed constant protection from Delhi's heat and were kept cool with wet gunny sacks, coolers and regular grooming.

"These horses are so fragile that we give them coolers, regular grooming and veterinary care inside the premises. How will they survive outside?" another worker said.

For the workers, the racecourse was more than a workplace. They spent their days around the horses, feeding them, cleaning their stalls, grooming them and preparing them for races.

According to the club, nearly 5,000 families, including trainers, jockeys, contractors and workers, depended on the racecourse for decades and generations.

For trainer Irfan Ali, the connection goes back six generations. His family used to tend to horses belonging to the Britishers in Lucknow before moving to Delhi with the colonial cavalry.

"My grandfather taught me the basics. First I worked as an assistant and then trained for years before becoming a trainer," Ali said.

Ali has trained around 50 thoroughbreds in his career and currently looks after 13 racehorses.

"This is the only race club in north India. Our families depend on it," he said.

A source associated with the club described the demolition as a painful sight for those who had spent years around the racecourse.

"It was a deeply disturbing sight for anyone who has been associated with the club and racing," the source said.

The Delhi Race Club was established on March 8, 1926, at its present location in the heart of New Delhi. In its early years, it functioned as a Gymkhana Club, with the track shaped like an oval. Part of the premises was later taken over by the Indian Air Force, leaving the track in its present horseshoe shape.

In 1940, the club was registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act. From April 29, 1959, it began functioning under the rules of racing of the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mumbai, while Gymkhana races continued until 1969.

The legal dispute began in March, when the Land and Development Office issued a notice directing the club to vacate the government land within 15 days, saying it was required for public purposes.

The club challenged the order before the Delhi High Court.

On May 26, a division bench of the high court set aside an interim order that stayed the show-cause proceedings against the club, allowing the eviction process to continue.