“Everything has ended for us.” That is how workers of the Delhi Race Club describe their situation after losing their jobs following the takeover of the historic institution. For many, the blow has been doubled: alongside their livelihoods, some now face losing the homes where their families have lived for years.

Jobs Gone Overnight

The Delhi Race Club, a landmark institution with a history stretching back decades, employed a large workforce spanning stable hands, maintenance staff, administrative employees and racing operations personnel. For many of these workers, the club was not just an employer but a way of life, with skills and routines built over years, sometimes generations.

The takeover has left them staring at an uncertain future. With specialised skills that do not easily transfer to other industries and advancing age for many, finding alternative employment is a daunting prospect. Workers say they were given little clarity about compensation, dues or rehabilitation, deepening their sense of abandonment.

Homes Under Threat

Adding to the distress, some workers who lived in staff quarters on the club premises now face eviction. For families that have called these homes their own for decades, the prospect of being turned out with nowhere to go has turned an employment crisis into a humanitarian one.

The workers are demanding a fair settlement: clearance of pending dues, adequate compensation and either alternative housing or sufficient time to relocate. Their plight has drawn attention to a question that extends beyond one institution: when historic establishments change hands, who protects the people whose lives were built around them?

Former patrons and racing enthusiasts have also expressed dismay, noting that the club was part of Delhi’s sporting heritage. While the business logic of the takeover may be debated, the human cost is undeniable. For the workers now facing an uncertain future, heritage and history offer little comfort against the immediate realities of lost income and threatened homes.