Macau held horse racing for the last time on Saturday, with 14 races at Taipa racecourse, after the government announced the concession to run the sport would cease on April 11. The Macau Jockey Club (MJC) had been told in January, giving it roughly 75 days to wind down, compared with the more than a year Singapore's racing body was given before racing there ends this October1.
When it announced the decision, the Macau government said racing activities were "failing to generate the economic and social benefits they should", and the Macau Horse Racing Company admitted to severe financial difficulties and an accumulated loss of over 2.5 billion patacas (US$310 million)1. The MJC traces its first thoroughbred race to 1989 and was once the project of the late Stanley Ho Hung-sun; it is now led by his fourth wife, Angela Leong On-kei1. The club has run through falling turnover, fewer races, dwindling horse numbers and ageing facilities, after a period when the horse population passed 1,2001.
Much remains unresolved. Trainers, jockeys and stable staff wrote to the city's leader Ho Iat-seng last month demanding "reasonable compensation" for losing their livelihoods, saying they were frightened and distressed and pointing to the sport's nearly 25-year contract extension in 2018 as reason to expect a lifelong career1. Owners also held a press conference to request compensation, saying they had been assured racing would continue, and were told the MJC had no intention of meeting their demands1. The MJC has agreed to subsidize horse transport, offering a maximum of HK$30,000 for horses going to mainland China and HK$200,000 to travel a horse overseas, but how much money will actually be paid, and what compensation retiring horses will receive, is still unclear1.
The MJC declined media requests in its final months. In a statement to the Post this week it said:
"due to the subsequent arrangements following the termination of the horse racing operating contract, we apologize that we are not able to accommodate any media requests. Thank you for your understanding and thank you again for your support to our club."
Trainer Joe Lau, who was at the MJC's first thoroughbred race in 1989 and at its last, said the ending had not fully landed. "It's such a sad ending. I think people will only feel it properly once it's over," he said. "Everyone is just going through the motions for the last meeting. Probably on Saturday night or when we wake up with a bit of hangover on Sunday, we will realize it's really over and done with."1 He expected a large crowd: "I think it will be chockers this Saturday. The people will come to say farewell and watch the last race."1
What it means for players
Macau's horse racing product no longer exists after Saturday's card, so there is no local track at which to bet on live racing and no local pari-mutuel pool being generated by a Macau meeting. The territory's casino gambling, which is separate from the MJC concession, is unaffected by the end of the racing contract1. Anyone who previously bet Macau races through an operator's online horse racing betting account should expect that market to be removed from schedules rather than replaced. For visitors and expats in Macau, the practical change is that a race meeting is no longer an option in the territory; racing in the region now means traveling to another jurisdiction or betting into one of their pools, and the rules on offshore horse racing betting differ by where the customer is located. Details of how Macau betting worked, including bet types and minimum bets, remain relevant only as history.
What happens next
The concession to run horse racing ceases on April 11. Horses are permitted to remain on site until March 2025 while the rehoming process is finalized, and Lau said he would stay at the stable to look after them: "We're not just removing some furniture from a house, these are live animals and it's going to take time and effort. Once they are all dispersed, my job will be done."1 Compensation for staff and owners, and funding for retiring horses, had not been settled as of the final meeting1.
