Horse Racing in Malaysia

Horse racing is one of the oldest organized gambling pastimes in Malaysia, and for most of its history it was run by three clubs under the umbrella of the Malayan Racing Association. That number is now two. If you want to spend a day at the races in Malaysia today, your options are Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur and Perak Turf Club in Ipoh, with off-course betting centers extending the action to races from around the world. This page covers what there is, where it is, what it costs, and what to expect on your first visit.

Penang Turf Club is closing: members voted to dissolve the club

The biggest change in Malaysian racing in recent years is the end of racing in Penang. Penang Turf Club, established in 1864 and the oldest horse racing club in the country, has ceased operations⁸. The process began in 2024, when a resolution to dissolve the club was passed at a special general meeting, and it was sealed on April 20, 2025, when 318 out of 320 ordinary members voted in favor of closure, with two spoiled votes¹. The dissolution itself was expected to take at least one to two years to complete¹.

The closure leaves Malaysia with two remaining turf clubs: Perak Turf Club, established in 1886, and Selangor Turf Club¹. Both continue as associated clubs of the Malayan Racing Association, and both still race².

Penang's exit follows a wider regional pattern. The Singapore Turf Club at Kranji held its final race in October 2024 after a 182-year chapter, and the Macau Jockey Club has also shut down¹. For readers who remember racing weekends in Penang, the club's racecourse at Jalan Batu Gantong is no longer a venue for the sport, and the club's off-course betting operations have ended with it.

Where to watch racing now: the two clubs

With Penang gone, Malaysian racing lives at two venues.

Selangor Turf Club races at the Sungei Besi racecourse at Jalan Sungei Besi, 57100 Kuala Lumpur, tucked into the southern corridor of the city as part of the STC Equestrian and Sports Centre⁹. The club's telephone number is 03-9058-3888⁹. Beyond racing, the site works as an equestrian and sports center, and entries for its races are open to horses from all the Malaysian turf clubs⁹.

Perak Turf Club is at Racecourse, Jalan Raja Di Hilir, 30350 Ipoh, Perak¹¹. It is one of the oldest racing institutions in the region, established in 1886¹. The club can be reached on 05-254-8084 or 05-254-0505, by fax on 05-255-0732, or by email at general@perakturfclub.my or inquiry@perakturfclub.my¹². Its office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm⁴.

Race days and the racing calendar

Malaysian racing runs on a weekend rhythm. At Selangor Turf Club, there are approximately 40 race days scheduled at the Sungei Besi racecourse each year, and each race meeting ranges from a day to four days of racing in a month, held on Saturdays and Sundays³. An average of 10 races are conducted on each race day, with an interval of 30 minutes between races³.

Perak Turf Club typically schedules between 20 and 30 race days a year, with each meeting running one to three days a month, again on Saturdays and Sundays⁴. A race day there averages 8 to 10 races with a 30 minute interval between them⁴. The racing season runs from January 1 to December 31 each year, and racing hours are Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 6:00pm⁴.

A sample fixture from Perak gives a sense of a typical day: a Saturday race card running from 9:55am to 5:00pm, in that case an Australian race card broadcast for off-course betting alongside the local action¹⁵. Selangor's fixtures similarly mix local meetings with overseas cards from places like Turkey, the United Kingdom and Australia¹⁰.

The practical takeaway: check the club's website for the fixture list before you go, since meetings move around the calendar and some weekends have no local racing at all, only off-course broadcasts.

What it costs to get in

Entry to Malaysian racing is inexpensive by international standards, and the price depends mainly on how much comfort you want.

At Perak Turf Club, entry to the Grandstand Open Gallery is RM9 per ticket. This is the non-air-conditioned seating, open to both regular racing fans and first-time visitors who want to watch the races on-course⁵. If you want air conditioning, the lounge costs RM15 per ticket, and you can pay an additional RM10 to book a table⁴.

At Selangor Turf Club, entry to the racecourse is RM10 per ticket, and a further RM30 gets you into the HEST Enclosure for additional comfort with air conditioning³.

Penang Turf Club's old price structure shows the same pattern, and is useful as a guide to how Malaysian clubs tier their seating. Before it closed, Grandstand admission was RM9 per entry, while the Viewing Terrace cost RM26¹⁶. During the restricted era of 2021, the club sold Ground Floor and 2nd Floor tickets at RM6 per person, Main Tote Hall tickets at RM20, and Viewing Terrace tickets at RM26, with each race day limited to 600 racing fans¹⁷. The club revised its entrance ticket prices effective from May 21, 2022¹⁹.

Off-course betting on local and overseas races

The racecourse experience in Malaysia is not limited to the races run in front of you. Each club also operates off-course betting on races conducted at the other Malaysian turf clubs and at overseas racing clubs.

Selangor Turf Club operates off-course betting on the races conducted at the other racing clubs in Penang and Perak, and on Wednesday night racing from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa³. Perak Turf Club operates off-course betting on races at the Malaysian turf clubs in Penang and Selangor, and on overseas racing from Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore⁴. Penang Turf Club, before its closure, ran off-course races every Saturday and Sunday²⁰.

This means that even on a weekend when the local track is dark, the off-course centers and betting halls are open, showing and taking bets on foreign race cards. A Perak race day program from 2021, for example, listed Perak, Singapore and Australia races on the same afternoon²².

On the legal side, betting on horse racing is legal at the licensed turf clubs in Malaysia²³. The Racing Act 1961 allows betting on horse racing, but only at a land-based racecourse, so there is no licensed online channel for race betting in the country⁶. Lotteries, casino games and horse racing are the lawful forms of gambling in Malaysia, and there are three racetracks where it is permitted to wager on horses, a figure that will shrink to two venues with Penang's closure⁷. For the wider picture, see gambling in Malaysia.

The race program and race cards

One of the first things to do on any race day is get a racing program. At Selangor Turf Club, programs are sold at the racecourse under titles including the Turf Guide, Punters Way and Racing Guide, or you can check the race cards published online³. At Perak Turf Club, the printed program at the racecourse is published by iRace, and digital race programs and race cards are available on the club's website⁴.

The race card lists each race's conditions, the runners, their handicap weights and jockeys. Perak Turf Club publishes handicap weights as part of its racing information, and its general race conditions govern how races are framed, including entries open to horses from the Malaysian turf clubs²⁴. Selangor's race conditions set out the entry fees owners pay to run a horse, RM210 for a standard entry, with outstation horses paying 7% of the base prize money plus 8% SST in feature and non-feature races, except the Triple Crown series⁹. Those are owner costs rather than spectator costs, but they explain how the race program is assembled.

For a first-time visitor, the program is the single most useful purchase of the day. It tells you how many races there are, when they run, and which horses are in each.

Getting there, parking and facilities

Perak Turf Club is quite centrally located within Ipoh city limits, in close proximity to hotels, shopping malls, eateries and cafes, recreational parks and hospitals¹¹. You can hop on a city bus, hail a taxi or order an e-hailing ride, or simply drive yourself there. Parking is abundant and free¹¹. This makes Perak one of the easiest racecourses in the region for a spontaneous visit: no planning around transport or parking fees.

Selangor Turf Club sits in a peaceful and secluded spot in the southern corridor of Kuala Lumpur, as part of the STC Equestrian and Sports Centre¹⁰. Being in the capital, it is reachable by car, taxi or e-hailing services, and its seclusion means travel time from central Kuala Lumpur runs longer than the distance suggests.

As for facilities, the clubs are more than race tracks. Penang Turf Club, in its heyday, provided equestrian facilities, a golf course and many other facilities alongside racing⁸. Selangor's site doubles as an equestrian and sports center¹⁰. At Perak, the Grandstand offers what the club describes as the unique and exciting experience of seeing horses up close, with the Open Gallery open to first-time visitors as well as regulars⁵.

Dress code, age limits and entry rules

The standard dress code at Malaysian turf clubs is smart casual. Penang Turf Club's rule was strictly smart casual for all visitors, and that remains the safest guide for what to wear at Selangor or Perak¹⁶.

On age, the rule is 18 and over. Children under 18 were not admitted to Penang Turf Club, and gambling under the age of 18 is a criminal offense, so bring identification if you look young: the club reserved the right to ask for proof of age from any customer and to carry out checks¹⁶.

On tickets, the Malaysian pattern is same-day sales only. Penang Turf Club sold entrance tickets on the day at the Ticketing Booth located in the Main Tote Hall, with no advance purchase or online booking, and tickets were sold on a first-come, first-served basis¹⁶. The same first-come, first-served rule applied across its meetings, including its January 2022 and November meetings²⁷. Expect the same approach at the other clubs: turn up, buy at the booth, find your seat.

A few historical rules from the pandemic era are worth knowing about only if you read old notices. At various points the club:

• required completed vaccination²⁹
• capped attendance at between 200 and 600 racing fans depending on the meeting²²
• required face masks inside the club³⁰
• suspended all races during Phase One of the National Recovery Plan²⁹

Those restrictions were lifted, and the club operated at full capacity from April 2, 2022³¹, but they explain the caps and SOP references you may see in archived fixture pages.

One last practical note: if you win, collect at the venue. Penang Turf Club's winning ticket collection procedures required winners to present their tickets, and the same tote-based collection applies at the other clubs³². And if betting ever stops being fun, the clubs' own safe betting guidance is blunt: if any self-assessment question about problem gambling applies to you, seek professional help immediately²⁵. More resources are on our gambling help in Malaysia page.