Manila Jockey Club and Philippine Racing Club close

The Manila Jockey Club and the Philippine Racing Club both closed their doors in November 2022, each facing huge operational losses, according to an account of the period published by Racing and Sports¹. The closures followed the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted racing in the Philippines for a time and placed financial strain on all three of the country's racing clubs¹.

The two clubs were the oldest in the country. The Manila Jockey Club was formed in 1867 and grew from pony street racing into the San Lazaro Racetrack at Santa Cruz; the Philippine Racing Club began operating the Santa Ana Park racetrack in 1937 in direct competition with it¹. By the early 2000s both San Lazaro and Santa Ana Park had moved out of Manila to Cavite province, about fifty kilometers away, and by 2013 a third venue, Malvar, had opened at Tanauan in Batangas province under the Metro Manila Turf Club¹.

With both pioneering clubs gone, Malvar was left as the last track standing, and its long-term viability was uncertain because of leasing concerns on the land¹. The Hapi Group, a band of owner-breeders, had formed some years earlier to promote Filipino racing and breeding, and after the closures it rebranded as the Hapi Jockey Club and secured a fifty-hectare plot of land¹. It held a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of a former coconut plantation at Padre Garcia on March 3rd 2022¹.

The new Padre Garcia circuit, operated by the Hapi Jockey Club and trading under the banner of the Philippine Jockey Club, is set to open on Wednesday November 12¹. Its soft opening day is set for Sunday November 16, the second day of the Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners Racing Festival¹. The club is led by Chairman Oliver "Jojo" Valesquez and President Raymund Puyat, with Leyte Vice-Governor Leonardo "Sandy" Javier Jr as Vice-Chairman and major investor¹.

The facility has two twin oval sand tracks with vertical drainage. The main outer track is 1600 meters in circumference with a five percent angled camber, and the inside course, used for training and racing, is 1525 meters long¹. It was designed by American racetrack designer Steve Wood and is lit for night racing by Musco Sports & Entertainment Lighting¹. Stage one has 1200 stables built, another 600 are under construction, and the completed complex is planned to hold 2000 horses¹.

At the recent Klub Don Juan Racing Festival at the old Malvar track, betting turnover topped PHP 82,000,000 across a two-day card of twenty-two races¹.

What it means for players

For most of the past three years, racegoers in the Philippines had a single venue, Malvar, and its future was uncertain because of the land lease¹. From November 12, a second track at Padre Garcia is scheduled to take bets, in Batangas breeding country near Lipa City¹. The club says it has launched a website with form data and racing news and is running a promotional campaign to attract new players¹. The article does not report which bet types or pools the new track will offer, or how its takeout compares with Malvar, so those details have not been reported.

What happens next

Racing begins at Padre Garcia on Wednesday November 12, with the soft opening on Sunday November 16 during the MARHO Racing Festival¹. The festival's feature race that day is the Ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr Memorial Cup¹. Another 600 stables are under construction toward a planned capacity of 2000 horses, and future projects include an apprentice jockeys' academy¹. No opening date has been reported for those.

For background on the sport in the country, see Betting on Horse Racing in the Philippines and Horse Racing and Betting in Asia. The closed Santa Ana Park operation is covered in the guide to Philippine Racing Club, Santa Ana Park racecourse, and the tax rules for the sport in Philippine Racing Franchise Tax and Tax on Racing Winnings (RA 7953). For gambling generally in the country, see Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.