India’s Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla was felicitated with the IFHA Outstanding Contribution Award for playing a vital role in increasing the influence of the region on the world stage
In a glittering function in Paris on Monday, October 5, attended by Princess Zahra Aga Khan and other eminent members of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), India’s Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla was felicitated with the IFHA Outstanding Contribution Award for playing a vital role in increasing the influence of the region on the world stage, and its impact on global racing and breeding.
The award was presented by Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chairman of the IFHA Executive Council, at the 60th International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, which brought together more than 150 delegates from around 40 countries. In its announcement, the IFHA recognised Dr Poonawalla’s “extraordinary dedication to and impact on global racing and breeding,” and in particular his contribution as one of the members for Asia on the IFHA Executive Council. Engelbrecht-Bresges also spoke of Dr Poonawalla’s role in the international racing community and his contribution to the administration and development of the sport, noting his long association with both the IFHA and the Asian Racing Federation.
The IFHA brings together racing authorities from around the world to set common standards for the sport, from rules of racing and integrity to breeding and welfare. For Indian racing, which has steadily built its standing in international circles over the past few decades, seeing one of its most familiar figures honoured on this stage is a proud moment.
[Photo: Dr Cyrus Poonawalla receives the IFHA Outstanding Contribution Award from IFHA Executive Council Chairman Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges in Paris.]
A season of honours for the Poonawalla family
The Paris award comes alongside other recognition for the family’s work in racing. Zavaray S. Poonawalla received the Legend of Indian Horse Racing Award in Mysuru [add date and organiser], honouring his own decades of involvement in the sport. The Poonawalla Group of Stud Farms, represented today by Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla, Zavaray S Poonawalla and Simone Poonawalla Pandole, has also earned a number of industry honours over the years, including recognition as Champion Stud Farm.
Together, these honours reflect generations of work in thoroughbred breeding, racing, sponsorship and the development of the sport in India.
A life between the stables and the laboratory
Cyrus Soli Poonawalla was born in Pune in 1941 into a Parsi family with a long connection to horses. His father, Soli Poonawalla, founded the Poonawalla Stud Farms in 1946, and the young Cyrus grew up around the paddocks of what would become one of India’s best-known thoroughbred breeding operations. He studied in Pune, graduating from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, and later earned a doctorate from the University of Pune.
It was the stud farm that led him, unexpectedly, into medicine. Horses that had finished their racing careers could be used to produce antisera, and in 1966 Dr Poonawalla founded the Serum Institute of India to manufacture affordable life-saving products such as tetanus antitoxin and anti-snake venom serum. What began as an extension of the family’s work with horses grew into the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced, supplying vaccines to countries across the globe, many of them through international health programmes for children.
The Serum Institute came to wider public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it manufactured the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine at scale under the name Covishield. The company is today led by his son, Adar Poonawalla, who became its CEO in 2011, while Dr Poonawalla continues as chairman.
Through all of this, the stud farm remained close to his heart. Poonawalla Stud Farms has bred a long list of classic winners on Indian turf and has been a consistent presence among the country’s leading breeders. Beyond India, Dr Poonawalla has worked through the Asian Racing Federation and the IFHA Executive Council to connect Indian racing with the wider world, the very contribution the IFHA has now honoured.
His public life has also been marked by philanthropy, much of it in Pune, in education, healthcare and civic causes, including work carried out in memory of his late wife, Villoo Poonawalla, who passed away in 2010. The Government of India recognised his contributions with the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
[Photo: L–R, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Princess Zahra Aga Khan and IFHA Chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.]
A proud moment for the community
For the Parsi and Zoroastrian community, the Poonawalla story carries a familiar thread: a family enterprise built patiently over generations, a willingness to take a bold leap into something new, and an enduring commitment to giving back. That this recognition should come in the world of horseracing, where the family’s story began nearly eight decades ago, makes it all the more fitting.
Parsi Khabar congratulates Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Zavaray Poonawalla and the entire Poonawalla family on these well-deserved honours.