Enthusiastic crowds in the public enclosure and elite horse lovers in the members' arena—all of them die-hard racing fans who missed live racing for 11 months feeling like fish out of water, thronged the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Sunday afternoon. "Over 100 people lined up to buy the entry tickets even before the ticket window was scheduled to open," the watchman on duty told mid-day.

Trainers miffed

The state government of Maharashtra has allowed only 600 spectators in lieu of the feared resurgence of the COVID-19, and that number includes the club officials, staff, horse owners, and racing professionals like jockeys and trainers. It's the last-mentioned, horse trainers, who were a little miffed with the race club, however. The reason? For the first time in the history of horse racing, like ordinary folks, they were asked to pay Rs 1,000 if they wished to carry their mobile phones inside the racecourse. It may be noted that the use of mobile phones is banned at the racecourse for many years now, and is allowed only against a hefty fee which is a source of revenue for the cash-strapped race club.