Mallya increases stakes in India's flagship Derby

Vijay Mallya, the billionaire chairman of UB Group, is increasing stakes in India’s flagship Derby event. The McDowell Indian Derby, among the richest racing events in India, is broad-basing itself and is increasing the total price money to close to Rs 3 crore from the last year’s kitty of Rs 2 crore.

The event, which will be held at Mumbai’s Royal Western Indian Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Race Course on February 6 and 7, will see the event being jazzed up substantially and will feature a clash between Indian and foreign jockeys. Christened “The Clash of the Titans”, this will feature five races for the Saturday of the Derby Weekend and will see some top foreign jockeys racing for high stakes. Vijay Rekhi, MD, United Spirits, confirmed that the stakes are being increased.

Senior company officials added that the entry fees are also being increased this time which add further to prize money. “There is substantial interest from sponsors for this event and we are investing to create rich content over the two days to drive the entertainment quotient, to supplement the high stakes racing,” the official noted.

There will be 7 featured races each on two days of the event and the winning jockey and the trainer are expected to share a prize money of close to Rs 1.3 crore up from Rs 1 crore during last year’s event. One of India’s famous and well-known jockeys - Pesi Shroff rose to fame through this Derby when he won a record eight times astride his thoroughbred - Saddle Up.

Mallya has been associated with this flagship event since the early 1980s and came close to losing the title to global spirits firm Diageo during 2007, when Diageo had bid more than the UB Group for title sponsorship.

In addition to being associated with horse racing, Mallya is also active in cricket through the Indian Premier League, has strong presence in couple of Indian football clubs and also owns a F1 racing team. Mallya has also indicated that all the sports interests of the Group will be shortly integrated into a separate firm which may look at tapping the public markets eventually.

According to senior officials at United Spirits, this year Derby will also feature a tribute to Michael Jackson with a performance by Glenn Jacksonn, who has an uncanny resemblance to the King of Pop. “Glenn rose to fame with the reality TV show in UK - “Britain’s Got Talent”. After performing for the Jackson family in 2008, Glenn’s flame was ignited further after being praised for his performance by the superstar himself,” the official added.

And finally, UB Group is giving away the newly launched VW Beetle at the sweepstakes replacing the Merc.