After 130 years, Ooty Race Course to be turned into eco park

After hosting horse races and equestrian events for over 130 years, the sounds of hooves thundering over the verdant, manicured grass fields in the center of Udhagamandalam town are set to fall silent over the Ooty Race Course. The venue, which has been used for horse racing in the Nilgiris was taken over by the Revenue Department from the Madras Race Club (MRC) on Friday.

Officials from the Nilgiris district administration said the MRC had had an agreement with the Revenue Department to lease a total of over 54 acres of land for the continued operation of the Ooty Race Course from 1978 onwards. “They had paid the lease to the government till the year 2001, and have failed to do so after that, with arrears totalling ₹822 crores owed to the government,” said S. Maharaj, Revenue Divisional Officer (Udhagamandalam).

In 2018, a small portion of the race course was taken over by the district administration for the setting up of a parking lot.

The MRC and the government had been involved in a legal dispute over the race course, with officials stating that the MRC had offered to pay a portion of the outstanding dues to the government in return for the continued usage of the grounds. “However, the Madras High Court passed an order on June 21, 2024, directing the Revenue Department to take over the grounds,” said Mr. Maharaj.

The MRC facilities were sealed on Friday, July 5, 2024 with the Revenue Department putting up a notice stating that the 53.34 acres that have been repossessed have been handed over to the State Horticulture Department for the setting up of an eco-park.

Work on setting up the park has already begun with workers trimming the grass in the race course and also planning on planting native flora in the area.

Godwin Vasanth Bosco, a restoration ecologist and founder of Upstream Ecology, who supplied some of the flora for planting at the site, appealed to the Nilgiris district administration to ensure the area was not developed and built on. Ecologists for many years have been urging the government to maintain the area as a green lung for the town, as there have been proposals in the past to fully pave the area for use as a parking lot and shopping complex.

“It is a very important wetland for the town. There are no other water storage or seepage areas in Udhagamandalam that can prevent flooding as effectively as the race course,” said Mr. Bosco. He added that the area needed to be restored with native flora as it was a very important high-elevation wetland which is one of the most endangered habitats in the world.

“Once fully restored, the wetland can serve as a habitat to showcase more than 150 native species of flora, and eventually provide an ideal habitat for small mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles and will also serve as a great opportunity to educate children and adults about the Nilgiris’ ecology,” he added.

According to local historians, the present race course was established by reclaiming land from the Ooty lake around the year 1896 near the present location of the Ooty bus stand with the course measuring a total of around two kilometres in distance.