Sadness, shock: Horse-racing fraternity overwhelmed by news of Kranji racecourse closure
THE rumour mill had been spinning for some time. Singapore’s horse-racing fraternity – trainers, owners and punters, and others – had long primed themselves for the impending closure of the Singapore Turf Club.
Even so, when the news was finally confirmed by the government on Monday (Jun 5), the reality hit the racing community hard, with many expressing sadness and shock.
The Turf Club will stage its final race at the Kranji Racecourse in October 2024, bringing a proud 182-year tradition to an end. The facility is set to close by March 2027, and the land of some 120 ha will be redeveloped for housing and other uses including leisure and recreation.
“Horse racing is in my blood and there is little else I can do. I feel sick to my stomach after hearing about the closure,” said Jason Lim, 42, one of the best horse trainers in Singapore and ranked second in the country.
Lim decided on horse-racing as a career after he completed his National Service at the age of 20, heading to the Australia Racing Institute in New South Wales to undergo training. He soon obtained his licence and he currently has 30 horses under his charge.
“I know that the land can be put to better use, but we should be given more time to adjust, and not just 16 months. The horses are not cars that can be scrapped, and you can’t shut down the industry in such a short time,” he said.
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While Lim is understandably upset as he’s in the prime of his racing career, there are others who won’t feel the impact of the racecourse’s closure.
Tang Weng Fei, a 70-year-old oil trader who owned horses in the 1990s when racing was held at the Turf Club’s Bukit Timah site, gave up racing in 2018 although he still follows the sport closely.
“I feel very sad to hear that horse racing is set to go. I’ve kept in touch with a couple of other horse owners, and I’ve been to the Kranji racecourse occasionally,” he said.
“I suppose (the closure) is inevitable after the recent poor attendances, especially during the pandemic. It probably has to do with (a different) lifestyle too, as the younger Singaporeans don’t seem to be interested in racing.”
P C Yeo, a 78-year-old who has been a horse-racing fan for 50 years, was more circumspect about the closure of the course.
“I suppose it is economics and about the opportunity cost. Racing revenue has suffered lately because of falling attendance, so (using the) land for housing is understandable.”
According to latest figures from the Singapore Turf Club, the average attendance per race day has declined from 11,000 in 2010 to about 6,000 in 2019. After the reopening of the racecourse in 2022 following a long closure due to the pandemic, the average attendance was about 2,600 per race day.
There are 550 races held every year, with the Singapore Tote Board – which manages the Turf Club – having a betting turnover of S$400,000 per race today, far below the S$1.5 million per race in 2000 when the races first moved to Kranji.
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