5 Oct 2024 - Last Day of Horse Racing at Singapore Turf Club
Singapore Turf Club held its farewell races today to honour its 182-year legacy. The grand farewell featured an elevated programme with 10 races that paid tribute to the home of Singapore's horse racing heritage. We managed to redeem free admission tickets online to the Grandstand Level 1 few weeks ago. This is our first time visiting the Turf Club to watch an actual horse race.
As we entered the main building, we saw many punters were looking at the racing screens just before the start of race. I tried to understand how the betting works but to no avail.
Below is the Parade Ring where horses make their rounds before every race.
A bit of history here. Singapore Turf Club was founded in 1842, and was known as the Singapore Sporting Club until 1924 when it took on its current name. Back then, it was located in Farrer Park – and that's where it held the first Singapore Gold Cup in 1924. Singapore Turf Club later sold its first racecourse and moved to Bukit Timah. The Bukit Timah Racecourse was officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi – the governor of Singapore – on Apr 15, 1933. The club moved to Kranji in 1999, and community recovery facilities for foreign workers recovering from COVID-19 were constructed on the premises during the pandemic, when racing was suspended. Races resumed in July 2020, but spectators were only allowed to return in April 2022.
In June last year, authorities announced that the facility would close and the land would need to be returned to the government by 2027. The 120 hectares of land could be used for housing, leisure or recreation, the authorities said at the time.
And so, the race began.....
There was a break of about 20 minutes between races on the day. When each race was about to start, horses started trotting out from the Parade Ring and to the racecourse.
There was a huge screen at the field in front of the grandstand where the race was being telecasted.
Each race was followed by a prize presentation. Belinda Lee, Singapore's television host and actress, was there hosting the prize presentation ceremony. The winning horse owners, trainers and jockeys took turns to receive the award on stage.
We stayed at the Turf Club for about 3-4 races before leaving.
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