The Indian Derby and the Poonawalla Multi Million were, by every visible measure, grand successes. The stands were packed, the lawns were buzzing, and the turnstiles did not complain. Tradition did its bit. Sponsors did more than their bit. The public turned up in their finery, their optimism, and in some cases, their borrowed hats.

And then there was the marketing committee. Somewhere. Presumably.

If there is indeed a marketing committee, it has perfected the art of invisible excellence. Not a press note. Not a season preview. Not even a courteous email saying, “Good morning, racing exists.” As a leading racing website, we were spared the inconvenience of official communication. Silence, after all, is a strategy. An unusual one for marketing, but innovation must be encouraged.

Let us be clear. The Derby does not require CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) from any committee. It survives on legacy. It thrives on nostalgia. Its glamour was chiselled into marble years ago, particularly during the era when the self-styled King of Good Times, Vijay Mallya, turned it into a cultural carnival. He did not merely promote the Derby. He staged it. He curated it. He ensured that even those who could not read a racecard knew something fabulous was happening at Mahalaxmi.

The Poonawalla Multi Million, similarly, did not lean on committee brilliance. The Poonawalla brothers ensured patronage through direct, tangible outreach. Free entry for women. Rs 200 vouchers handed out like confetti with fiscal discipline. Personal involvement. Actual incentives. Imagine that. Marketing with visible fingerprints.

Meanwhile, the official machinery seems to operate on a principle best described as “organic publicity.” Whatever coverage emerged did so heroically, despite the absence of coordination. Media houses reported because they always have. The narrative did not expand. It did not deepen. It simply repeated itself, dutifully, like an annual ritual.

One is given to understand that somewhere in the administrative maze there exists a marketing department. Possibly even a marketing person. Industrious, we are told. Though their industry has yet to leave the faintest footprint in the public domain. Our inbox remains as barren as a summer paddock. No seasonal briefings. No structured outreach. No attempt to cultivate curiosity among younger audiences who now spend their Sundays binge-watching streaming platforms rather than watching horses thunder down the straight.

And then there is the broadcast itself, which appears determined to remain a relic from a less ambitious century. The video coverage is hazy, the webcast arrives fashionably late thanks to an obliging time lag, and buffering intrudes with the regularity of an unwanted steward’s inquiry. To complete the spectacle, the audio and video rarely travel together. The commentator declares a horse sweeping past the leader while the screen, still catching its breath, shows the field turning into the straight.

In an age where even a teenager with a phone can stream in crisp clarity, racing continues to present a broadcast that feels trapped in technological purgatory. The sport thrives on speed and drama. Sadly, its digital window to the world moves at a far more leisurely pace.

Attendance? It was healthy. As it has been on Derby day for decades. But growth? A surge? A measurable expansion of the audience base? That would require outreach beyond hope and habit.

Even the media experience remains charmingly antiquated. No defined stand. No dedicated viewing facility. We are honoured guests who must fend for ourselves with binoculars and balance. Yet the club dutifully hosts a media day, sponsors cups in the names of publications, and continues a tradition that has been in place since typewriters were cutting edge technology. Ritual sustained. Evolution pending.

Indian racing today faces a demographic dilemma. The younger audience is elusive. Engagement requires imagination, consistency, and communication. None of which are naturally produced by silence.

The Derby and the Multi Million succeeded because history carried one and sponsors carried the other. The committee, if present, contributed the rarest commodity of all in modern sport promotion: disciplined absence.

In fairness, invisibility is difficult to execute consistently. And on that front, the performance has been flawless.