The Zavaray S. Poonawalla Bangalore Summer Derby to be held on July 12 will be the highlight of the 17-race carnival to be held here this weekend. L. Shivashankar, chairman and senior steward of the Bangalore Turf Club, who received the gleaming trophy for the event on Thursday, thanked Mr. Poonawalla for co-sponsoring the blue riband event with BTC.

The richest race in the country, with total stakes of ₹5 crore, has attracted eight runners. The winning owner will take home a purse of a little over ₹2.45 crore and a trophy valued at ₹5 lakh, while the winning trainer, jockey and breeder will receive replicas valued at ₹1 lakh each. Mr. Shivashankar said that Mr. Poonawalla would offer sponsorship support of ₹5 crore every year.

The other co-sponsors for the weekend races are Messrs. Coromandel Gromor (Arun Alagappan), S.M. Cama Music and Production Pvt. Ltd. (Soli Merwan Cama), Five Star Shipping Company (K.N. Dhunjibhoy) and Patel and Patel Racing LLP (D. Jayanna).