Today, Mumbai's high profile Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) will hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the picture postcard Mahalaxmi racecourse. The results of the elections for the new RWITC committee will be announced post the AGM, late evening. Bitter pre-election campaigns have marked the club's history. The run-ups to the polls featured slanging matches between rival teams, which were vitriolic and vengeful. This time, compared to earlier, the kings of controversy have been much lower key. That is the way it should be.

Mahalaxmi is more than a racecourse for Mumbai. It is a vital open space the current custodians of which is the RWITC committee. While the committee's primary aim is to improve racing facilities for the public and conduct the sport, it is to them that the Mumbai public looks up to when it comes to safeguarding and preserving the lung of SoBo.