Racehorse owners, industry to appeal against Singapore Turf Club closure

SINGAPORE: A group of horse owners will send a proposal to the government asking that horse racing be allowed to continue in Singapore. 

This was the conclusion following a meeting between the owners and horse trainers from the Association of Racehorse Trainers (ART) held on Wednesday (Jun 14) evening.

About 30 racehorse owners were present, along with about 20 horse trainers, those at the meeting told reporters.

This is the first time an organised appeal against the government's decision to close the club has been publicly discussed since the announcement on Jun 5 that the Singapore Turf Club will close by October 2024 and that the land will eventually be redeveloped.  

Speaking to the media after the meeting, ART president Michael Clements said that the majority of the horse owners at the meeting "would like racing to go forward".

The owners have formed a working committee with eight members that will represent horse owners in Singapore, said Mr Clements. Registered horse owners number about 500.

"This committee is going to work closely with the trainers' association with regard to putting forward our proposals as to how we move forward with the (turf) club and with various government departments," he said. 

When asked when the proposal will be made, Mr Clements said it will be "as soon as possible" but said that they will also be seeking feedback from owners who were not at the meeting, as well as jockeys.

Mr Clements told reporters that the atmosphere at the meeting was "solemn" and a lot of the owners voiced their opinion about the recent developments.

He reiterated concerns that the plans for the closing of the Turf Club thus far do not address many of the industry players and workers outside of the employees of the Singapore Turf Club.

Of the attendees, Mr Clements said that they were some of the biggest horse owners in Singapore.

"I think we had a good showing of owners here this evening. They were very expressive. They are extremely concerned about the future of their horses," he said.

Five horse owners at the meeting spoke to the media, with all saying that they were not consulted prior to the announcement that the Turf Club was closing.

One of the horse owners in the committee, Mr Joe Giovanni Singh, said their objective was to appeal to the government to ensure that horse racing can stay on or at least get an extension.

"We've got a lot of people who are really very, very keen in this ... sport. And it's very sad to see that suddenly out of the blue that we have to close shop in Singapore," said Mr Singh, who has 15 horses at the Turf Club.

Another horse owner, Mr Hobart Low, who has about 20 horses, said that there were two camps in the meeting - one group that wanted to appeal for horse racing to continue and another that accepted the closure.

He belongs to the group that wants to appeal he said, as the closure "might not have been the right decision".

"We just want to have a voice first ... before we proceed to talk about the exit strategy, what we can do about compensation," he said.

"Maybe if miracles happen, the government will decide ... to hear our voices and look at the whole situation differently."