SINGAPORE: Greater than 180 years of horse racing in Singapore is ready to come back to an finish, with the city-state’s solely racecourse closing and being redeveloped for housing.The Singapore Turf Membership (STC) mentioned that the ultimate race, the a centesimal Grand Singapore Gold Cup, will happen in October subsequent yr.The membership was based in 1842 by a Scottish service provider and different horse-racing lovers. The present racecourse in Kranji was opened in 2000, changing the outdated Bukit Timah observe.”We’re saddened by the choice of the federal government to shut the membership,” STC’s chairman Niam Chiang Meng mentioned in a press launch.”On the identical time, we perceive the land wants of Singapore, together with housing and different potential makes use of comparable to leisure and recreation,” he added.The STC acknowledged that attendance on the racecourse had been declining over the previous decade.Racehorse homeowners and trainers will likely be provided assist for horse upkeep and exportation, the membership mentioned.There are about 700 racehorses on the membership, in response to native media.The land will likely be returned to the federal government in 2027 and the 120-hectare (300 acres) website will likely be used for housing, together with public housing.”Singapore is a city-state with restricted land,” the Ministry of Nationwide Improvement and the Ministry of Finance mentioned in a joint assertion.”The federal government frequently evaluations its land use plans to fulfill at this time’s wants whereas guaranteeing there’s adequate land for future generations.”
