Madras Race Club

Even though the club was officially constituted in 1837, its origins go back to 1777, when 81 cawnies of land were granted by the government to conduct races. There is proof of this in a letter written by the then Collector of Chingleput dated June 22, 1825, mentioning the grant. The land was taken from the Adyar villages of Venkatapuram and Velacheri.

Racing became irregular and almost stopped soon after it had begun in the 1770s. This was a result of Hyder Ali, who came within striking distance of Madras. A few years later, 35 cawnies were added and two race courses came up — a smaller one to train horses and the other with a stand to watch the races.

The club functioned till 1875, when the Prince of Wales Edward VII visited Madras. Racing again went through a tough phase and finally in 1887, the Club was revived. A balance of 11 rupees, 13 annas and 12 paise was carried forward to a new club called Madras Race Club with 50 members.
“This is the oldest race course in the country and we completed 200 years recently,” says B.K. Amanullah Khan, secretary, Madras Race Club.
In 1931, the Guindy Lodge was built in the club premises for the secretary and in 1933, the weighing room was constructed. In 1966, the MRC became an independent turf authority.
Till 1952-53, the Madras Race Club was under the Calcutta Turf Club after which it came, like all race courses in the south, under the South India Turf Club. As each one gained a separate status, the South India Turf Club became redundant,” says Khan. “The Ooty Race Course, the country's only course on a hill station, is under the MRC.
The club now has about 625 horses in station, three stands and boasts of the best race track in the country. The racing season begins in November and goes on till March after which races are conducted in Ooty between April and June.