Chairman, Serum Institute of India
#derby #race Willow Cyrus Poonawalla will be in action for the Pune Derby on Sunday October 12th
About Cyrus Poonawalla
On June 12, 2026, Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Serum Institute of India, attended the inauguration of a new academic building at The Bishop's School in Pune's Camp area. Speaking at the event, Poonawalla said the school "laid the foundation for my entire life" and that he takes "immense pride in being an alumnus." He noted that he was approached by school officials a couple of years ago to support reconstruction and development, and that he contributed 22 crores for the project. During the ceremony, Poonawalla committed an additional 10 crores for further development, stating he was "overwhelmed by the accolades."
Transcript (9 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Cyrus Poonawalla0:01
I had a thought of commemorating the memory of my wife, who loved horse racing much more than even me, by sponsoring the Indian Derby because the Indian Derby didn't have a sponsor last year. So the main race of the whole of India is the Indian Derby, so we called it the VU Poonawalla Indian Derby, and for five years or even more, depending on how the situation is. Thereafter, when I came to Pune, I found that there is no sponsor also for the Pune Derby because the person who had agreed to contribute for the Pune Derby has been put on hold by the turf club. So being my home center, I thought it was a very good opportunity to sponsor the Pune Derby in addition to so many races that we are sponsoring. I say Pune VU. So that encouraged me to go ahead with the Pune Derby for the next five years or as long as I am alive. So they should have done in the prospectus that the person who was sponsoring has been blacklisted, and everybody else they should have put in the prospectus. Dr. Saras is always standing, and why are they not giving the name of Poonawalla race? We have five people.
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Interviewer1:43
I agree that they should have put in the prospectus, but I think the conclusion of the sponsorship with the club just came a little after the prospectus was printed, so there was no choice.
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Cyrus Poonawalla2:00
No advertisement comes from the club.
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Interviewer2:02
You're quite right. They could have done more. But...
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Cyrus Poonawalla2:05
Why not for Poonawalla?
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Interviewer2:07
Why you as a press did not give that this Poonawalla VU Poonawalla Derby is going to be run on this day, to depend on the Supreme Court judgment that we are waiting whether the betting tax is going to be on the total, which is very bad for racing. They have raised it to 40%, or will it be on the bet? Right?
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Cyrus Poonawalla2:35
If that's on the bet, the racing will thrive and we will get good dividend and more public will come. If it is on the total, then 40% is tax out of 100. What is left for the... Right? So it's a huge difference. The spot will be made in the next two months or three months maximum by the Supreme Court judgment, which is awaited by all the turf clubs of India. We are at the moment quite comfortable, how well we look after and all that. But the only thing that is killing the sport is the betting tax. And they have also got another tax on the winnings, which at least now the government has made a rule that only if it is over 10,000 winnings then it will be taxed. So that is not affecting the punter so much.
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Interviewer3:37
Yes. But because of the heavy tax, all the betting is going underground. Clubs are not getting any revenue. That is why they are not able to increase the stake money or anything.
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Cyrus Poonawalla3:49
Next year, Pune though I'll be sponsoring, I have requested the club that they should put an equal matching amount so the stake goes up.