Mahalaxmi Racecourse
The Mahalaxmi Racecourse is a horse racing track in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The oval track is about 2,400 metres long with a straight section and sits on around 225 acres near the city’s sea front. It was built in 1883 on marshy land called Mahalakshmi Flats. The grandstands were modeled after Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse in 1922 by Sydney architect Theodore John Marks. The land is owned by the Government of Maharashtra and is leased to the Royal Western India Turf Club, which runs the racecourse. The Grandstand is a protected heritage building, and the site also has a civilian helipad.
The racing season runs from mid-November to the last week of April. The Indian Derby is held on the first Sunday in February and is a major social event in Mumbai. From 1984 to 2022, the Derby was sponsored by UB Group as The McDowell’s Indian Derby.
The racecourse is open to the public for morning and evening exercise on the inner track. People jog, walk, and do yoga in the gardens. The Amateurs Riders Club offers riding lessons. In the evenings, dogs may be walked with permission. On some non-racing days, aero-modelling with radio-controlled planes takes place on the polo ground, and the area is sometimes used as a heli-pad.
The land was leased to RWITC for 99 years, ending in 2013. There is debate about turning the site into a public park, while others fear encroachment. The state government prefers renewing the lease for another 30 years. The current lease price is about Rs 56 lakh per year; proposed new rates are around Rs 42 crore per year, with increases every five years.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:26 (CET).