Horse racing has departed Singapore as an iconic course closes its doors (Image: Getty)
Kranji welcomed punters for the last time on Saturday, with a 10-race 141-runner card ending a glittering 24-year course tenure and capping off the Singapore Turf Club’s 182-year history. Over 10,000 people reportedly attended the meet, keen to absorb the action before the site is handed back to the government.
The STC has been the home of Singaporean racing since 1842 and has boasted some notable patrons in its time, including Queen Elizabeth II.
Yet, with attendances dwindling and sponsors lacking, the 124 hectares of land that once displayed works of equine art will make way for affordable housing in 2027.
The thousands seen in attendance for the finale was far from the norm at Kranji, as the site near the Malaysian border often welcomed minimal visitors to a scattered grandstand.
Yet, as mentioned, there were days when British royalty could be seen trackside, notably in 2006 and 1972 – when both Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne were present for an event named after the monarch, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, not to be confused with a similarly named Group One event at another Asian racing hub, Sha Tin.
The Turf Club moved to Kranji in 2000, and much like the final day of racing, the first saw a flock of spectators – nearly 30,000 – for the grand opening, according to reports.
Queen Elizabeth II was known to visit the club (Image: Getty)
“There’ll be guests who will be very excited and will be out there for a fun day out,” owner Eric Koh told Channel News Asia before the swansong.
“But to a lot of us – the trainers, the owners, the jockeys – it’ll be quite a solemn and sad day. It’s like attending a funeral, really. The reality has set in. We have all accepted that there’s no U-turn and so we just have to move on.”
This closure comes less than a year after another notable body, the once-great Macau Jockey Club in southern China, shut its doors after 44 years.
As horse racing left Singapore, six of 22 local trainers remained since the closure was announced 16 months ago. The horses present, a cohort of roughly 700, have been reduced to just 240, with the majority departing the island nation for neighbouring Malaysia.