Thanks - 2009

Dear Member,

The Royal Western India Turf Club Ltd.'s Elections are now behind us and I write this letter to thank you for your support, which got me elected to the Managing Committee.

Words cannot express my gratitude, and I look forward to the year ahead in the hope that I can make a significant contribution to the betterment of our club and the sport.

Your suggestions are always welcome and would be appreciated. I am always available to you on my office numbers between 3pm-6pm on non race days, should you have any queries or want to contact me to share your views.

I take this opportunity to once again wish you and your family a wonderful 2010.

Sincerely yours,

Gautam Lala.

Election Result:

Vivek Jain 887

Jaydev Mody 791

Champaklal Zaveri 715

Shyam Ruia 713

S.C.Jain 642

Ram Shroff 582

Gautam Lala 570

Shivlal Daga 552

Mohan Thakur 548

Candidature for RWITC Elections 2009.

Dear Member,

Another year has gone by and we once again come to the Royal Western India Turf Club Ltd.’s Elections and the AGM to be held in the Members’ Enclosure at 4:00pm on Thursday, 17th December 2009.

Following my “letter of introduction” dated 27th August 2009, copy of which is enclosed herewith, I write to you this time requesting you for your valuable support and a vote in my favour for the seat on the Managing Committee of the RWITC Ltd. I hope you have been able to spare the time to peruse my earlier letter and consider my candidature.

If elected, I will always remain accessible to all members and racegoers, and will sincerely strive to look after the interests of the members, owners and racegoers who are the very backbone of the sport that we all love so much. I would love to dedicate myself, and pledge my time and effort to the improvement of the game and to propagate the sport in its proper light to bring back the crowds to enjoy the afternoon and give racing the importance and dignity it deserves.

Having been involved with all facets of the sport for over 2 decades along with my past experience of serving on the Managing Committee from 2002-2004 and as a Steward from 1999-2005, I sincerely feel that at 39, with the advantage of age on my side, I can contribute effectively to the working of our club and work towards keeping racing fair and clean.

I earnestly seek your support and will be most grateful for that privilege.

Sincerely yours,

Gautam Lala

Introduction To My Candidature

Dear Club Member,

I write to you today to inform you of my candidature for the RWITC Managing Committee elections to be held in December 2009. The purpose of writing to you this early is to introduce myself, especially for the benefit of our new members who were not there during my earlier term as a Committee Member from 2002-2004. This early correspondence would hopefully give us a chance to get to know each other better before December and moreover, give you enough time to get to know your Candidate.

My introduction to racing turned to a passion while sitting on the children's bench in the Mahalaxmi Race Course car park at a very early age and I have been an avid racegoer and owner as soon as I was of an eligible age in 1988, and continue to own a small string of horses and breed privately/non-commercially in a small way in the name of my racing company Gainsville Stud & Agr. Farm Pvt. Ltd. (www.gainsvillestud.com). My family's association with the sport goes back decades and my parents Laxmi & Partab Lala have had the good fortune to co-own classic winners like Our Select (Indian Derby 1968), Bright Hanovar (Indian Derby 1971) and Bakhtawar (with the late Mr. M.D.Mehta) which set the standards of achievement and moderate success more recently with Minsky, Classic Talk, Starynsky and Star O'War has helped appreciate clean and fair racing.

It was 10 years ago, in 1999 that I was nominated as a "Steward of the Meeting" and served in that position for 2 years, after which, with the overwhelming support of the members, I was elected to the RWITC Managing Committee in 2002 and served in that post for two years, before taking a break. During that period I was also a "Steward of the Club" for 3 years where I have always been fair and unbiased in my decisions in my humble attempt to keep racing fair and clean. Further, I have served and continue to serve on various sub-committees like the Cups & Trophies, Equine Hospital, Studbook, etc. and for the last two years, I have served on the Managing Committee of the Western India Race Horse Owners' Association where along with other members, I believe, we have done a lot for the benefit of racehorse owners. Having been involved with all facets of the sport, I sincerely feel I am in a position to contribute more generously given the responsibility as a member of the Committee once again.

On a personal level, my MBA degree in Marketing has helped me run my packaging business. I hope that in the near future we can connect and share views on our Club and the sport that we all love so much. Thank you for your time and looking forward to talking with you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Gautam Lala