Mumbai has a rich history of racing with the first recorded meeting dating back as early as 1798. The Mahalaxmi racecourse, a turf track with a circumference of 2400 metres, can be found in the Tulsiwadi region of Mumbai and first opened its gates to racing in 1883. It was built on 225 acres of land donated by Sir Cusrow N.Wadia. Racing is organised by the Royal West India Turf Club and the course hosts all of India's Classic races. The principal race is the Indian Derby for 4 year olds, run each February over 2400 metres. It was first contested in 1943 when the Thomas Schofield ridden filly Princess Beautiful was victorious. Remarkably, the jockey Pesi Shroff has won it 8 times, the most recent in 2004 on Psychic Flame. The latest winner in 2014 was the gelding Alaindair, unusual for a Classic race, when ridden by Y.Srinath.

The course hosts a total of 6 Group 1 races, including the Indian Oaks for 4 year old fillies over 2400 metres which was first contested in 1944 when Same Again won when ridden by F.J.Marrs. More recently Richard Hughes won the Oaks in consecutive years in 2010 and 2011 with Jacqueline and Moonlight Romance. The track also hosts the 1000 and 2000 Guineas over 1600 metres run each December, the Breeders Multi Million for 3 year olds over 1400 metres, won in 2014 by Shivalik Storm, and the Indian Turf Invitational Cup for 4 year olds contested each March over 2400 metres. As well as the Classic races, the course stages The Cambridgeshire, as indicated in the 1945 racecard shown below.

Indian Derby (2400 metres) winners since its inception in 1943
1943 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Princess Beautiful trained by M C Patel and ridden by Edgar Britt
1944 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Deepak trained by Major K P Jadhav and ridden by A Roberts
1945 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Odds On trained by G L Shinde and ridden by R H Jones
1946 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Chakori trained by A L J Talib and ridden by W T Evans
1947 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Bucephalus trained by A L J Talib and ridden by T Burn
1948 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Jeanne D'Arc trained by L W Marrable and ridden by Bill Rickaby
1949 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Balam trained by A L J Talib and ridden by Kheem Singh
1950 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Mansoor Beg trained by H R Somekh and ridden by Pandu Khade
1951 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Gold Street trained by B R Patel and ridden by B T Duffy
1952 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Martial Law trained by B R Patel and ridden by Ken Gethin
1953 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Regal Domain trained by W Buckley and ridden by W T Evans
1954 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Commoner trained by Sion F Nessim and ridden by S Chavan
1955 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Rough Deal trained by J Thompson and ridden by Eric Eldin
1956 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Star of Gwalior trained by Major V M Lad and ridden by John Egan
1957 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Balchand trained by D N Adenwalla and ridden by Pandu Khade
1958 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Canny Scot trained by Baba Khan and ridden by M Jagdish
1959 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Fair Wood trained by D N Adenwalla and ridden by J McGaffin
1960 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Rose De Bahama trained by Narayan Singh and ridden by Bill Rickaby
1961 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Alijah trained by Major V M Lad and ridden by Pandu Khade
1962 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Loyal Manzar trained by A L J Talib and ridden by S Smith
1963 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Rocklie trained by A L J Talib and ridden by S Smith
1964 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Prince Pradeep trained by Aziz Mahmoud and ridden by Willie Carr
1965 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Rose Royal trained by Major V M Lad and ridden by Frankie Durr
1966 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Red Rufus trained by Meherjee and ridden by K Raghunath
1967 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Nijinsky trained by S M Shah and ridden by E J Cracknell
1968 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Our Select trained by S M Shah and ridden by M Jagdish
1969 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Fair Haven trained by G M Omkar and ridden by Brian Taylor
1970 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Thunder Storm trained by D P Pandole and ridden by J Wilson
1971 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Bright Hanovar trained by S M Shah and ridden by G McGrath
1972 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Prince Khartoum trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Wally Swinburn
1973 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Mansoor trained by S M Shah and ridden by Pandu Khade
1974 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Topmost trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by N Reuben
1975 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Pyare Miya trained by Hayat Mohd and ridden by Ernie Johnson
1976 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Commanche trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by M Jagdish
1977 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Squanderer trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by M Jagdish
1978 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Manitou trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by V Shinde
1979 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Royal Tern trained by B K Lagad and ridden by Karl Umrigar
1980 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Mohawk trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Wally Swinburn
1981 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Track Lightning trained by Tassi and ridden by Sandy Barclay
1982 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Almanac trained by Nosher Cama and ridden by Geoff Baxter
1983 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Nelston trained by C A Kutappa and ridden by V Shinde
1984 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Enterprising trained by Bezan Chenoy and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1985 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Revelation trained by Bezan Chenoy and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1986 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Sir Bruce trained by Jamshed Dalal and ridden by Mick Kinane
1987 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Chaitanya Chakram trained by J S Dhariwal and ridden by L Marshall
1988 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Cordon Bleu trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Mick Kinane
1989 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Exhilaration trained by Imtiaz Sait and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1990 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Desert Warrior trained by Altaf Hussain and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1991 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Starfire Girl trained by Altaf Hussain and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1992 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Astonish trained by Bezan Chenoy and ridden by Aslam Kader
1993 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Astronomic trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Aslam Kader
1994 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Littleover trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Pesi Shroff
1995 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Elusive Pimpernell trained by Rashid Byramji and ridden by Aslam Kader
1996 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Amazing Bay trained by J H Foley and ridden by Satish Narredu
1997 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Indictment trained by Vinayak and ridden by M Narredu
1998 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Star Supreme trained by Dallas Todywalla and ridden by Jimmy Fortune
1999 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Supervite trained by Darius Byramji and ridden by C Ruzaan
2000 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Smart Chieftan trained by Karan Singh and ridden by Richard Hughes
2001 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Storm Again trained by J S Dhariwal and ridden by Pesi Shroff
2002 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Starsky trained by Dallas Todywalla and ridden by B Prakash
2003 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Noble Eagle trained by Vinayak and ridden by P Belose
2004 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Psychic Flame trained by Darius Byramji and ridden by Pesi Shroff
2005 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Southern Regent trained by S Ganapathy and ridden by B Prakash
2006 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Velvet Rope trained by Vinayak and ridden by P Kamlesh
2007 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Diabolical trained by S Ganapathy and ridden by Colm O’Donoghue
2008 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Hotstepper trained by S S Shah and ridden by Mick Kinane
2009 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Antonios trained by S S Shah and ridden by Sylvester De Sousa
2010 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Jacqueline trained by Pesi Shroff and ridden by Richard Hughes
2011 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Moonlight Romance trained by C D Katrak and ridden by David Allan
2012 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by In The Spotlight trained by S Padmanabhan and ridden by Martin Dwyer
2013 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Super Storm trained by S Narredu and ridden by Jimmy Fortune
2014 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Alaindair trained by Altamash Ahmed and ridden by Y S Srinath
2015 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Be Safe trained by M Narredu and ridden by Suraj Narredu
2016 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Desert God trained by S Padmanabhan and ridden by David Allan
2017 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Hall of Famer trained by S Padmanabhan and ridden by David Allan
2018 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Rochester trained by S K Sunderji and ridden by C S Jodhu
2019 The Indian Derby over 2400 metres was won by Star Superior (7/1) trained by Rajesh Narredu and ridden by Suraj Narredu

I am grateful to Vinny Hinde for the rare Bombay 1945 racecard shown below.

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