Bombshells that usually rock Kranji are either about prize money getting slashed or a 100 – 1 outsider romping home. They have always bounced back from such setbacks with racing stakeholders and punters being a resilient lot.
But this time, for the members of the community who reacted with sadness and disbelief on Monday, the end of Singapore horse racing has reached the point of no return. On Monday, the Singapore Turf Club (STC) had a discussion based on the rumours of closure that have been circulating for around a week. Two separate emergency meetings were convened with Irene Lim, its President and Chief Executive addressing the staff at a town hall, and the trainers shortly after. The last meeting has been scheduled on October 5th to coincide with the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup, and local racing operations at Kranji will cease in 2024. Later that afternoon, it was confirmed at a press conference that the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will return the 120 ha of land that was occupied by the Singapore Turf Club since 1999, by March 2027 to the government for re-development. Danny Pillai aged 75, an ardent racing fan and retiree noted that it was absolutely devastating and said that he had been religiously following every weekend’s races for almost half a century since the Bukit Timah days. The former 1984 Miss Singapore Universe and former STC manager (International racing and sponsorship), Violet Lee, rued for not only the loss of a rich chapter of Singapore’s history but also one that significantly contributed to its coffers. She stated that horse racing was a part of the country’s heritage and history and that racing supported charity and nation-building and that she is very sad now that it is gone. Those who run the show every week – owners trainers and jockeys – will be hit the hardest. Michael Clements, Leading trainer and President of the Association of Racehorse Trainers Singapore (Arts), tried to keep a brave face while echoing the sentiments of the other 21 trainers. The Zimbabwe-born Singapore citizen stated that the club was going to make various announcements and that the management would subsequently be engaging one on one with trainers to understand the impact. He feels that there is a pretty good chance of getting an extension as it is his belief that a 181-year-old industry cannot be wrapped up in 16 months and that the exportation of horses requires more time. He said that they had new horses and that the owners had been busy buying horses to bring in, and that even if they say horses will be repatriated after October the next year, they cannot close it so fast.
The champion owner of Falcon Racing Stable, Eric had invested in yearling sales as recently as last week, stated Eric Koh of Team Cheval and his racing manager. He went on to say that although he had heard whispers regarding Singapore’s imminent swansong, and said he believed that racing still had a good amount of potential, and even though the former STC stipendiary steward felt that he had backed the wrong horse, he vows to fight for a solution. Koh added that he was all for Singapore racing, and even if this latest development had been brewing for a few months, he still purchased new horses. He said it was a shame that he would not have horses in his own home ground even though he could carry on racing horses in Australia, Ireland and Hong Kong and felt that there was no balanced consideration prior to making the decision to discontinue horse racing.
One of Kranji’s up-and-coming young trainers, Jason Ong aged 35 could not contain his disappointment as he faced an uncertain future and added that they were not aware of the upcoming closure and that the STC should have asked them not to buy any more horses.
The government will put various measures in place to help stakeholders including horse maintenance and exportation. Ong, whose father Boon Hin was the owner of Kranji legend War Affair stated that the club should be held accountable for giving them false hopes.
Although for Vlad Duric, a four-time Singapore champion jockey it is not so much about losing his rice bowl, the length of expatriate jockeys’ stay hinges on the annual decision of the licensing Committee. The 45-year-old Australian who spent 11 years at Kranji said that he was just very saddened by the news as Singapore has so much history of more than 180 years of existence which was coming to an end. He stated that he feels even more sorry for the staff at the Singapore Turf Club whether it be the syces, the ferries, the trainers or the vets, it was horrible for them. He said that the owners would suffer the most though, as some of them had put in a good amount of money in racing when things began to look up again post covid, and this would come as a shock for them. He went on to say that he himself will stick around for as long as he could as he had got very close to the trainers who were like family, and that they would stick together until the end.
