Why Did Nang Lerng Racecourse Shut Down

When Nang Lerng held its last race and returned its site

Nang Lerng racecourse, run by the Royal Turf Club of Thailand, held its final race meeting on September 16, 2018¹. The club had been operating the track in the Dusit district of Bangkok, and that Sunday was the end of racing there².

The handover did not happen all at once. The Crown Property Bureau canceled the lease and gave the club 180 days to return the land³. Demolition crews moved in on March 3, 2019, taking down the grandstand and the other buildings on the site³. By the time the dust settled, there was no racecourse left at Nang Lerng at all.

The Royal Turf Club itself was founded in 1916, so the closure ended more than a century of racing under that name at that location². The club's address had been Phitsanulok Road in the Nang Loeng area, which is how the track got the name most people use for it⁵.

If you are trying to place the dates in your head: the last race was in September 2018, the lease ran out, and the physical track was gone by March 2019. There was no long goodbye season.

Why the course closed: the Crown Property Bureau land

The reason is simple and not dramatic. The Royal Turf Club did not own the land under Nang Lerng. It leased it from the Crown Property Bureau, and those lease contracts expired⁶. When the leases ran out, the bureau canceled them and asked for the site back within 180 days³.

That is the whole story of the closure. It was a land and lease matter, not a racing scandal or a sudden ban on the sport. The club had been a tenant, the tenancy ended, and the landlord wanted the property.

The site is not sitting empty. The plan for the land is a monument to King Rama IX, together with a public park where people can go for recreation and exercise³. So the ground that held race meetings for decades is being turned into public green space and a memorial, not another track.

For anyone who remembers the old course, the practical point is that there is nothing to visit. No grandstand, no betting windows, no track. If you go looking for Nang Lerng racecourse today, you will find a site being redeveloped for a different purpose entirely.

Where racing went: the Royal Bangkok Sports Club

Racing in Bangkok did not disappear when Nang Lerng closed. It consolidated. The Royal Bangkok Sports Club, usually shortened to RBSC, is now the only horse racing club in Thailand where race betting remains⁴.

The two clubs used to share the calendar. Nang Lerng and the Royal Bangkok Sports Club raced on alternating Sundays, so there was a meeting most weekends between them⁶. When Nang Lerng closed, that arrangement ended and the Royal Bangkok Sports Club became the single venue⁷.

The club sits at 1 Henri Dunant Street in Bangkok 10330, on Henri Dunant Road in the Pathum Wan district, on land that also belongs to the Crown Property Bureau⁸. It is a full sports club, not just a track. Alongside the horse racing track it has a golf course, swimming pools, tennis courts, a fitness room, badminton courts, a football field, billiards, table tennis, squash and a chess room⁷.

Racing there runs on selected Sundays rather than every week. The club's published upcoming horse racing dates are Sunday September 13 and Sunday September 27, 2026⁸. Because the schedule is not a simple weekly one, check the club's own site before you plan a trip around a race day.

The Royal Bangkok Sports Club is also listed as a racing authority in its own right, with regional racing authorities elsewhere in the country including the Army Sports Club, Khonkaen Sports Club, Chiangmai Racecourse, Udorn Thani and Roi-Et⁹. So while Bangkok's city racing is down to one club, racing does continue in other parts of Thailand.

Betting at RBSC: the only legal wagering in Thailand

This is the part most visitors actually want to know. Gambling in Thailand is tightly limited, and the legal forms are narrow. The only legal types are the government lottery and state-run horse racing¹⁰.

In practice, that means the Royal Bangkok Sports Club is where legal horse race betting happens in Bangkok. It is the only horse racing sports club in the country where race betting remains⁴. If you want to bet on horses legally in Thailand, this is the venue.

A few practical points for a first visit:

• Racing is on selected Sundays, not every week, so confirm the date first⁸.
• The club is a members' sports club, so expect a club atmosphere rather than a public stadium feel⁷.
• Betting is on the races run at the track that day.
• The club has run its own racing committee and election process, which tells you the racing operation is a formal, ongoing part of the club rather than a leftover⁸.

One thing worth knowing if you have read about a casino: the Royal Turf Club, the old Nang Lerng operator, has talked about a Bangkok casino project². That is a separate proposal and not something you can visit. Treat any casino talk as a plan, not an open venue.

If you want the full picture of how betting works at the club, including what is on offer and who can take part, see Racing at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club: Is There Betting?. For the wider national picture, Can I Gamble in Thailand? covers what is and is not allowed.

Getting to RBSC: location, transport and what to wear

The club is at 1 Henri Dunant Street, Bangkok 10330, on Henri Dunant Road in Pathum Wan⁸. That puts it in the middle of central Bangkok, close to the Siam and Ratchadamri area, which is served by the BTS Skytrain. If you are coming by BTS, aim for the Siam or Ratchadamri stations and walk from there. Check the club's site for the specific race day before you set out, since racing is not weekly⁸.

On what to wear: there is no published strict dress code for race days at the club. It is a members' sports club in central Bangkok, so smart casual is the sensible choice. Covered shoulders and proper shoes will not look out of place. You are not dressing for a formal racing carnival, but you are also not at a public stadium.

A simple way to plan the day:

Because the club is a members' club with a racing committee and a formal calendar, the smoothest approach is to look up the race day on the club's own site first, then plan your travel around it⁸. If the date you picked is not a race day, there will be no racing to watch.

For the wider context of how racing and betting work across the region, including the bet types you will see on a racecard, start with Horse Racing and Betting in Asia. If you are new to reading a racecard, How to Read a Racecard walks through draw, weight, rating and form. And if you want to understand the bets themselves, Horse Racing Bet Types Explained covers win, place, quinella, trifecta and the multi-race bets.