The Guindy race course has not hosted a reported race meeting since March 2025, and its future as a racing venue is in doubt. In September 2024 the Tamil Nadu government ended the Madras Race Club’s lease on 160.86 acres and took possession of the land. A government order dated 6 September 2024 terminated the lease, and the state took control on 9 September after the club failed to pay rent arrears put at about ₹730.86 crore, The South First reported. The courts have since allowed the state to build ponds and an eco-park on part of the grounds.
The club is still fighting the takeover in the Madras High Court. Here is how racing came to Guindy, why the land changed hands and what is being built there now.
How racing came to Madras
Sources give different starting points. The South First dates the club to 1777. Historian Sriram V., writing in Madras Musings in October 2024, places the first race meet at the Island Grounds in 1780, says racing later shifted to Guindy, revived for good in 1887, and that the Madras Race Club itself was founded in 1896. He calls Guindy the oldest racecourse in India. Either way, the course is one of the oldest continuous sporting sites in the city.
The Guindy land was leased to the club for 99 years from 1946, according to court reports carried by ETV Bharat. That lease would have run until 2046.
The rent dispute
- The government revised the annual rent over the years in line with land values; the club disputed the increases, citing the original agreement.
- In March 2023, the Madras High Court ordered the club to pay ₹730.86 crore in arrears for 1970 to 2004, and directed the state to demand rent from 2004 onwards, put at about ₹12,381 crore, The South First reported. The state later raised a demand of ₹13,111.86 crore.
- On 9 September 2024 the premises were sealed. The club argues that racing is part of Chennai’s heritage and asked for a renewed lease.
Racing since the takeover
There was one notable meeting after the takeover. On 1 and 2 March 2025 the club hosted the 63rd Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Guindy, with total prize money of ₹4.16 crore for the weekend, its first time hosting the event in three years, DT Next reported. We found no report of regular race meetings at Guindy in 2026; the DT Next archive has no Race Club items after December 2025.
The courts and the ponds
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 Sept 2024 | Government order terminates the lease |
| 9 Sept 2024 | State takes possession; premises sealed |
| 22 Oct 2025 | High Court division bench widens the status quo order to allow pond works |
| 30 Oct 2025 | Supreme Court declines to interfere, bars permanent structures |
| 25 Nov 2025 | High Court allows the state to continue eco-park works in public interest |
The Supreme Court bench of Justices P. S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan said the state could create only what the eco-park needs, subject to the final verdict, ETV Bharat reported. The High Court later held that the status quo order was holding back public-interest projects, SCC Online reported. The main suit challenging the lease termination is still pending.
What is being built
The Horticulture department plans an eco-park on 118 acres of the former race course, with more than 25 features including flower beds, an orchidarium, a butterfly garden and a children’s play area, DT Next reported in June 2025. Greater Chennai Corporation is widening and deepening four ponds, each about 5 metres deep, to hold rainwater and ease flooding in Guindy, Velachery and Adyar. With the extra digging, storage was put at 8.77 million cubic feet. The state told the Supreme Court the design follows Japanese gardens and that no commercial buildings or government offices are planned.
Quick answers
Is horse racing still held at Guindy?
No regular meetings have been reported since the March 2025 Invitation Cup weekend. The land has been under state control since September 2024.
Why did the government take over the race course?
It ended the lease over unpaid rent, with arrears put at ₹730.86 crore for 1970 to 2004 and much larger sums claimed after that.
What will the land be used for?
Flood-control ponds and a 118-acre eco-park. Courts have barred permanent structures until the case is decided.
How old is the Madras Race Club?
Accounts differ: 1777 in some reports, 1896 according to historian Sriram V., with the first Madras race meet in 1780.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Tamil Nadu government takes over Madras Race Club: history of the conflict (The South First)
- Race Club takeover: the view from both sides (Madras Musings)
- Madras Race Club case: SC declines to interfere with High Court order (ETV Bharat)
- Madras HC: eco park and ponds conceived in larger public interest (SCC Online)
- Govt to rope in consultant to turn Madras Race Club land into eco-park (DT Next)
- Madras Race Club to host Turf Invitation Cup racing events (DT Next)
- Madras Race Club topic page (DT Next)
