Being born into a racing family that had the good fortune to own horses like Bakhtawar, Beandaz and two Indian Derby winners like Our Select and Bright Hanovar, Gautam took to racing naturally. Although gambling never interested him, he was fascinated by bloodlines and took to studying them in a big way. His interest and involvement with horses and racing got him nominated as one of the youngest ever Stewards of the Meeting in 2000 at the age of 29. Two years in this post saw him contest for the RWITC Committee elections in 2002 where he got elected finishing 3rd of 9 elected members behind Vivek Jain and just 6 votes behind Chairman Khushroo Dhunjibhoy. This again, as one of the youngest ever Committee Members of RWITC Ltd.
Gainsville was incorporated in 1997 with plans to establish a non-commercial stud farm. While those plans were shelved, racing and breeding under the Gainsville banner started in Pune 1999 with its first runner/winner Vandalism. Gainsville now races with horses bred by them and also buys some from other farms. Breeding continues with bred in purple broodmares placed at various farms, nominated to stallions best suited to them. Matings ofcourse, planned by Gautam Lala. It's only the start with matings proving with Amatol, Starynsky, Placer Her Well, Dare To Dream, etc.
Racingage
RIGHT - Gautam Lala seen here leading in Starynsky after his victory in the Infonet India Trophy in Bombay.
BELOW - An article that appeared in the Racing Age on the day of the RWITC Committee Elections, December 2002.
ABOVE RIGHT- Gautam Lala with Devil's Bag at Claiborne Farm, Kentucky 1996.
ABOVE LEFT - Gautam Lala leading in Louis Cyphre in Bombay.
ABOVE LEFT - Gautam Lala presenting a trophy to Shurud Jhaveri(right) and Shyam Ruia(left).
ABOVE RIGHT - Indian Derby Day 2005. Left to right - Gautam Lala, Shyam Ruia, Byram Jeejeebhoy and Khushroo Dhunjibhoy.
BELOW LEFT - With friends Maharaja of Idar (left) and Padmanabh Ruia (right)
BELOW RIGHT - Leading in STAR O'WAR after one of his wins at Mahalaxmi.