After shocking news of its closure 16 months ago, Singapore’s racing family sticks it out to the end.
SINGAPORE - Sixteen months have flown by since the local horse racing fraternity was rocked by news of the Singapore Turf Club’s impending closure, and like a thief in the night, the dreaded date of Oct 5 has sneaked up on everyone at Kranji with the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup as its epilogue., was the fate of the 700 horses.– the land will be returned to the Government by March 2027 – some were up in arms, while others were undecided on how to proceed.
But against all odds and doubters, the club has held the fort, and so have the last 16 trainers standing from the original 22, and their steadfast owners. “Nobody wanted to be the last to board the ship. So, we brainstormed a few ideas and explored a few locations in Malaysia.”Opening up those spaces allowed everyone to breathe better.
Shortly after, around 200 will be sent to Malaysia. The other 40 will be air-freighted to France, Hong Kong and Australia. The 52-year-old Singaporean, who lost about 25 horses to Malaysia after the announcement, said: “I also started to race my horses more often, like Red Dragon and Operation Tiger. It was not ideal, but I was stuck.Mr Mahadi, who was the last trainer to be granted a licence in June 2022, took out a $180,000 loan to open a stable and buy horses.
Across the fraternity, emotions have run the gamut of shock and disbelief to anger and frustration when negotiations for extension of time and compensation stalled.Redevelopment of Singapore Turf Club to start after Govt takes back Kranji site in 2027: Indranee The Hepa sum is split between trainers and owners to ensure an orderly process and incentivise owners to keep racing their horses throughout the 2024 season.
“The $13,000 top-up is a major deterrent. If you own a lot of horses, like Falcon Racing who owns 10 horses, they had to fork out $250,000 up front,” he said. “I’ve also applied for other jobs as interchange supervisors with SMRT and Transit Tower, but they did not ask for my resume, only Mandai Zoo has.
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