Macau racing to cease at end of March 2024

Horse racing in Macau is set to stop at the end of March 2024, according to a report published on 15 February 2024 by the Hong Kong outlet on.cc¹. The same report says racing in Singapore will stop at the end of October 2024¹.

The report states the two closures together: "澳門與新加坡賽馬運動，分別於本年3月底與10月底停擺"¹. It gives no further detail on the Macau decision, no figure for the number of race meetings or jobs affected, and no statement from the Macau Jockey Club or any regulator. No announcement by the Macau authorities on the closure, and no date for a final race meeting, has been reported¹.

The Macau closure appears in the report as context for a separate item about staffing at Conghua racecourse in Guangdong, which is operated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Three former jockeys from Malaysia have taken up work there as track riders, the report says¹.

• S Shafrizal previously rode in Singapore, and rode as a freelance jockey last season with 11 wins for the year¹
• S Mutaza rode in Selangor¹
• Y Salim previously rode in Singapore, and began as an apprentice there before moving behind the scenes after 2019¹

The report links the two closures to recruitment, saying Conghua racecourse continues to develop and has a large demand for manpower, so talent from Macau and Singapore may become targets for recruitment¹. It also says track riders from South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia have taken jobs at Conghua in recent years¹.

What it means for players

Macau's racing product is the Macau Jockey Club's meetings at Taipa racecourse, which have been available to bet on through the club's own pari-mutuel pools. If racing stops at the end of March 2024 as reported, those pools stop with it, and there is no reported plan for a replacement local racing product¹. Bettors in Macau would be left with the other forms of gambling licensed there, and with racing run in other jurisdictions, subject to whatever rules apply to betting on overseas races.

For visitors, a Macau race day would no longer be part of the trip after the end of March 2024. For locals and expats who follow the sport, the practical change is the loss of a local track and a local tote, not a change in the rules on other gambling.

The report does not say what happens to outstanding bets, to the Macau Jockey Club's staff, or to the Taipa site¹. None of that has been reported.

What happens next

The report gives the end of March 2024 as the point at which Macau racing stops¹. No final meeting date, no wind-down schedule and no official confirmation from the Macau Jockey Club or the government has been reported¹. The same report puts the end of Singapore racing at the end of October 2024¹.

For background on the sport in the territory, see Betting on Horse Racing in Macau and Can I Gamble in Macau?. For how the sport works across the region, including racecourses and pari-mutuel pools, bet types, win and place bets, multi-race bets, minimum and maximum bets, dead heats, types of racing, official online betting accounts, offshore betting, racing seasons and betting duty, see the site's regional guides.