Horse racing to end in Singapore with Kranji course marked for redevelopment

The two century long history of horse racing in Singapore is set to end as of October next year with the Singapore Turf Club’s Kranji racecourse to be used for housing.

With ongoing pressure on land use, the island nation's only racecourse will be taken back by the Singapore Government as of late 2024, with the 120-hectare site next to the Kranji MRT station to then be redeveloped.

In a statement released late on Monday, the Singapore Turf Club advised “horse racing has a long and distinguished history in Singapore.

"With races continuing until the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup on 5 October 2024, the Club will continue to ensure the sportsmanship, safety and integrity of every race

The sport was introduced to Singapore in 1842, when Scottish merchant William Henry Macleod Read and several other enthusiasts founded the Singapore Sporting Club.

They transformed a patch of semi-swampland in Farrer Park in central Singapore into a racecourse. In 1924, the site was renamed as the Singapore Turf Club.

Horse racing proved to be popular not only with Europeans, with meetings also attracting wealthy Malay and Chinese racegoers.

In 1933, as horse racing's popularity increased on the island, the course was moved to a larger location at Bukit Timah

In March 2000, racing moved to its current location at Kranji, in the north of the island with the Singapore Turf Club built a new racecourse with a five-storey grandstand, with capacity for 30,000 spectators.

However, the Singapore Turf Club has seen attendance decline over the past decade.

Given the lack of land supply and high demand for housing in Singapore, the redevelopment of the Kranji site follows the repurposing of several of Singapore’s golf courses for residential and commercial use

In 2017, the 36-hole golf course at Singapore’s Raffles Country Club (RCC) was acquired for redevelopment for the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail (HSR) project while the Keppel Club and Marina Bay Golf Club are set to be redeveloped when their leases expire in the coming years.

Explaining the closure of the Kranji racecourse the Singapore Government said the land would be redeveloped for public and private housing to meet "future land use needs".

The Singapore Ministry of National Development said it would explore other uses for the land, including recreation facilities, noting "Singapore is a city-state with limited land. The government continually reviews its land use plans to meet today's needs while ensuring there is sufficient land for future generations.”

Images: The Singapore Turf Club’s Kranji racecourse (top and middle) and the grandstand at Singapore Turf Club's former trach (below). Credit: Singapore Turf Club.