Closure of Singapore racing decided

Racing in Singapore will cease, with the closure scheduled for October 2024. The decision was announced by the Singapore government in June 2023, citing a housing shortage¹. The final Singapore Derby was run in July 2024, 144 years since the city's first¹.

The last Derby drew an official crowd of 5,800¹. Lim's Saltoro won after a late head-to-head skirmish with Makin, giving owner Lim Siah Mong his second Derby victory in three years, after Lim's Kosciuszko in 2022¹. The trainer of two of the last three Singapore Derby winners, Meagher, plans to train with his brothers Chris and Paul out of 40 boxes at Pakenham later in 2024¹.

Kranji opened on March 4, 2000, on a 120 hectare site, and one regular, Awang, has been betting from the same spot since that opening day¹. The Singapore Turf Club operated under protected parimutuel betting, with bookmakers banned and sports betting limited and under the control of racing¹. Turnover rose in Singapore in the year the closure was announced¹.

Japanese trainer Hideyuki Takaoka, who moved to the Singapore Turf Club in 2002 with three Japanese staff and became the club's first Japanese trainer, retired in November 2023². He had planned to hand his stable to a successor and retire in June 2023, but the decision that month to abolish Singapore racing, scheduled for October 2024, made the handover impossible, so he delayed retirement and continued running the stable until November². His stable's runners included El Dorado, winner of the Singapore Gold Cup, and Better Life, winner of the Singapore Derby in 2013².

What it means for players

Racing at Kranji ends with the closure scheduled for October 2024, after which there is no live Singapore racing to bet on. The Singapore Turf Club operated with protected parimutuel betting, bookmakers banned and sports betting limited and under the control of racing¹. What replaces racing betting in Singapore, and whether any alternative local product is offered, has not been reported in these sources. For visitors, seats for the final meeting were already being booked fast as of July 2024¹. For the people who worked in the sport, pathways have narrowed: neighboring Macau is already consigned to history¹. More detail on how betting in Singapore is regulated is set out in the guide to gambling in Singapore, and the wider regional picture is covered in the guide to horse racing and betting in Asia.

What happens next

The closure is scheduled for October 2024². No further dates beyond that have been reported in these sources.