New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday (August 27, 2026) took possession of the Delhi Race Club’s 53-acre premises on Lok Kalyan Marg, following which demolition work began at the century-old institution, bringing its long association with horse racing to an abrupt end.
Several key structures associated with horse racing, including the stables, bookmakers’ ring, winning post, photo-finish camera and saddling enclosure, were brought down after bulldozers moved into the premises.
The action came after the Patiala House Court on August 25 dismissed the Delhi Race Club’s plea seeking an interim stay on the August 11 eviction order passed by an Estate Officer under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act. Principal District and Sessions Judge Pitambar Dutt held that the club had failed to make out a prima facie case for staying the eviction order. The club’s main appeal is now listed for disposal on September 26.
The eviction order had directed the club to vacate the 53.242-acre premises within 15 days. According to the Centre, the land was originally leased to the club in 1926, with the lease remaining valid through periodic extensions until December 31, 1994. The government has maintained that the lease was not renewed thereafter and that the club had been in unauthorised occupation of the premises since January 1, 1995.
The takeover has also triggered the shifting of horses from the racecourse. Of the more than 250 horses that were at the club, around 200 have reportedly been taken back by their owners, while the remaining horses are being shifted to other locations.
With the Centre now in possession of the land, demolition of the racing infrastructure underway and the horses being moved out, the Delhi Race Club’s decades-long chapter of horse racing at the historic premises appears to be drawing to a close, even as its main legal challenge against the eviction order remains pending.
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