An Eye For Winners

M A M Ramaswamy's passion for horses is legendary. No wonder then that he has the country's largest number of racing horses, over 1,000 at last count.

Horse racing is a passion Ramaswamy picked up against some resistance from his father, Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar.

His first horse, Silver Jet, fetched him his first Classic win in 1965. What seemed to be beginner's luck in the summer of 1965 has been repeated 375 times.

Ramaswamy also entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1985 for being the first person to win 100 Classics.

A senior official at the Madras Race Club put Ramaswamy's achievement succinctly: "Serious horse owners aspire to bag 20 or 30 Classics in their lifetime and here we have Ramaswamy, who now holds the world record for the maximum number of Classics won, 376 till date."

 

Ramaswamy owns horses in all the major racing centres in India. Apart from the winning streak he enjoys with his horses, the number of horses he owns also proves his financial prowess.

An expert in the field points out that the maintenance cost of each horse is close to Rs 120,000 per year.

According to observers, Ramaswamy is known to have an eye for picking winners even as yearlings. He studied the equine science and has learnt the trade from experts.

Surprisingly, with over 1,000 horses in his possession, he still does not have a favourite. He makes no distinction between a classic horse and an ordinary one. If a horse wins a Classic, there is a feast for the whole stable.

A website, www.indiarace.com, quotes Ramaswamy: "I am god-fearing and highly superstitious. On every big racing day, I have been wearing the same tie for the past 30 years. I carry the same purse though it has seen better days."

In 1985, he founded the Chettinad Stud and Agricultural Farm, spread over 200 acres near Chennai. It maintains the maximum number of horses in a single location in Asia.

The farm's veterinary hospital complex is equipped with every modern facility like operation theatres, ultrasound scanners, magnetopulse for physiotherapy, air-conditioned stables, clinical laboratory with auto-analysers, horse walkers, intensive care units and a group of seven expert veterinary doctors round the clock.