Hyderabad races run; Delhi moves the rails
Monsoon season set for July 27–Oct 30 with 25 meetings; HRC advertises Rs 13.63 crore in prizes. The BJP-led Centre’s online-gaming law is on the books; the club says GST hikes and a forced online shutdown have hurt betting — their claim, their numbers to show.
Hyderabad Race Club has announced 25 monsoon meetings and Rs 13.63 crore in advertised prize money.
Hyderabad’s monsoon racing season is slated for July 27 to October 30, 2026, with 25 race meetings, according to a Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) media release carried in a local report. The club’s own website lists a “PROSPECTUS HMR 2026” dated July 1, 2026, though the linked document could not be retrieved during this check.
HRC has advertised Rs 13,63,35,000 in prize money and trophies worth Rs 17,85,000 for the season, with the club saying total payouts can rise if races are split. The fixture list includes the President of India Gold Cup (Sep 19), the Race2Win.com Deccan Derby (Oct 4) and the Golconda St Leger (Oct 19). The club also lists 22 A-licensed and six B-licensed trainers, 24 licensed jockeys, two apprentices and one B-licensed jockey, and 619 horses in station — all club-supplied figures.
On money and rules, two things are distinct. One, the BJP-led Centre’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 is law, with Presidential assent on August 22, 2025. HRC says it shut its online totalisator from that date along with other turf clubs; the shutdown and the “huge revenue loss” cited are HRC’s claims, with no audited numbers attached. Two, HRC also blames a GST jump from 28% to 40% from September 22, 2025 for further decline in totalisator turnover; that rate move and any fall in betting are again the club’s assertions in the release, not verified in public filings here.
The season dates, prize ad and race names are on HRC’s slate; the Centre’s law is on the Gazette. The rest — the losses, the turnovers, the uniform national shutdown — the club can document any time it likes. Until then, Hyderabad will run; Delhi can explain why it keeps moving the rails.