BLAST FROM THE PAST
MILESTONES
- 1800's
- 1900's
- 2000's
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1842
4 Oct 1842
The Singapore Turf Club was founded as the Singapore Sporting Club by Scottish merchant William Henry Macleod Read and a group of horse racing enthusiasts. Located at Farrer Park, the Club’s aim then was to encourage the importation and improvement of horses in the colony by offering monetary prizes to horses who win races.
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1843
23 & 25 Feb 1843
The first race was held to mark the 24th anniversary of Singapore’s founding by Sir Stamford Raffles and was watched by over 300 spectators. This inaugural Singapore Cup race featured prize money of $150. The race day was declared a national holiday.
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1880
1880
One of the oldest feature races on local turf, the Singapore Derby, was first run in 1880 with a prize money of $150. The 2,400m race featured ponies from China.
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1896
7 Jan 1896
The Straits Racing Association, known today as the Malayan Racing Association (MRA), was formed to coordinate and regulate horse racing in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Ipoh.
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1911
16 Mar 1911
The old Racecourse played a big part in heralding the start of aviation in Singapore. The first flight in Singapore, piloted by Belgian aviator Joseph Christiaens, made aviation history as it took off from the Serangoon Road Racecourse.
16 Mar 1911
Singapore Sporting Club changed its name to Singapore Turf Club, to better represent the Club’s role.
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1933
1933
To cater to growing racing interest, the Club sold its Serangoon Road Racecourse to the Singapore Improvement Trust for $1.5 million and used $850,000 to purchase 98-hectares of the Bukit Timah Rubber Estate for a new site. More than $3 million would go into building the Bukit Timah Racecourse, later regarded as “the finest in the East”.
15 Apr 1933
Sir Cecil Clementi, then Governor of Singapore declared the Bukit Timah Racecourse open at a grand ceremony attended by 5,000 members and guests.
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1972
20 Feb 1972
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Anne visited the Club for The Queen Elizabeth II Cup, during her state visit to the Republic. A 26,000-strong crowd showed up to see the Royal Family. The Cup to commemorate her visit ran over 2,200m and offered $35,000 in prize money.
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1981
1981
Local turf history was made when female jockeys, Irene Pateman and Paula Wagg from Australia became the first two women granted local permits to ride.
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1988
1 Jan 1988
The Government established the Singapore Totalisator Board. The Board appointed the Bukit Turf Club as its agent to take over racing and 4D operations from the Singapore Turf Club.
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1989
Jan 1989
Singapore was put on the world racing map when Colonial Chief won the Second Hong Kong Invitation Cup at Sha Tin, an international racing event. Colonial Chief was also the first horse to top more than $1 million in prize money.
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1990
7 Oct 1990
Then President Wee Kim Wee and the First Lady made their first official visit to the Club as Guests-of-Honour for the Singapore Gold Cup race, which coincided with the nation’s 25th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, Singapore Pools donated $500,000 to the 25th Anniversary Charity Fund.
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1991
11 Aug 1991
The Club introduced the $250,000 Raffles Cup, named after Sir Stamford Raffles. Tuneful Melody created turf history as the first local-bred horse to win a major feature race.
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1994
1 Jun 1994
Bukit Turf Club, appointed in 1988 to take over Singapore Turf Club’s racing and 4D operations when it was dissolved, was named Singapore Turf Club once again to give Singapore more prominence on the world racing map, as well as to pave the way for the club’s impending relocation to Kranji.
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1995
22 Aug 1995
Legendary rock singer and songwriter Rod Stewart’s first concert in Singapore was held at the Singapore Turf Club. It was the Club’s first concert held at the racetracks and Rod Stewart played to an 8,000 strong audience.
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1999
18 Jul 1999
Singapore Turf Club held a Heartstrings Charity Cup race which raised $630,000 for the Community Chest. The Club received then Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong and his wife Mrs Helen Yeo as Guests-of-Honour.
7 Aug 1999
After five years of construction, the state-of-the-art $500 million 124-hectare Kranji Racecourse was opened.
The racetracks were designed with the latest in-turf innovation and technology. The 41 light masts installed around the course enabled the Club to introduce night racing, the first Club from the Malayan Racing Association to do so.
The five-storey grandstand could hold 30,000 spectators and facilities included public food courts, private boxes with dining and viewing facilities and private dining areas for Racing Gold Card members.
The stables featured air-conditioned rooms, swimming pools, exercise tracks and a veterinary hospital, as well as over 1,000 stalls.
25 Sep 1999
Highlighting the first of the live races hosted at the Kranji Racecourse was the $350,000 Singapore Cup, held in commemoration of the first race in Singapore in 1843, which took place at the Farrer Park Racecourse.
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2000
4 Mar 2000
Then President SR Nathan officiated the opening of the Kranji Racecourse and a 30,000-strong crowd witnessed the inaugural running of the $3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup. The Cup race was Singapore’s biggest horse racing event and the world’s seventh richest horse race. It drew participation from top horses and jockeys from France, Hong Kong, Italy, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
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2001
12 Mar 2001
The inaugural $1 million Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Sprint race took place at the Singapore Turf Club. Together with the $3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup, they were the crown jewels on the local racing calendar. The biggest racing bash of the year was broadcasted worldwide to an estimated 1.9 billion audience.
11 Jun 2001
The $3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup was granted Group One status, the highest recognition accorded by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee in London to any thoroughbred race.
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2003
9 Nov 2003
The inaugural Singapore Turf Cub Charity Raceday raised $1.15 million for Community Chest. Together with Singapore Pools, the Club also donated another $1 million to 21 other charities. The occasion was marked by the presence of then President S R Nathan.
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2006
18 Mar 2006
Queen Elizabeth II paid a second visit to Singapore Turf Club with Prince Philip 34 years later, gracing the Queen Elizabeth II Cup named after her. To mark the grand occasion, the Club increased the Queen Elizabeth II Cup prize money from $250,000 to $350,000.
1 Apr 2006
The Club injected $11 million to boost the local racing industry. The Patrons' Bowl and Kranji Mile were upgraded to Group 1 status, bringing the total Group 1 races held at the Club to seven. Three new feature races were added - The Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint, Singapore Four-Year-Old Sprint and Singapore Four-Year-Old Mile.
29 Oct 2006
The Group 1 Raffles Cup was presented by Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific for the first time.
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2009
Nov 2009
The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre opened with the aim of making horse-riding accessible to the public. It remains the only riding centre with its own equine surgical facility. The riding centre dedicated an annual race day to raise funds for the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore, focused on facilitating interaction with horses as therapy for children and adults with disabilities.
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2010
24 Jun 2010
The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre was officially opened by then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Teo Chee Hean.
18 Aug 2010
The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre hosted the 2010 Youth Olympic Games’ Equestrian Show Jumping event.
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2011
26 Mar 2011
Singapore was once again put on the world map when best-known local equine celebrity Rocket Man became the first and only local horse to win the International Group 1 race, Dubai Golden Shaheen.
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2013
27 Apr 2013
The Club broke a record for the largest cupcake tower in the Singapore Book of Records. All 2,888 cupcakes were sold for charity and proceeds went to the Club’s adopted charity, THK EIPIC @ Woodlands.
6 Sep 2013
Brazilian jockey, Joao Moreira made Singapore-Malaysia racing history with eight victories on eight winning racehorses at the Kranji racecourse. This epic performance was recognised by the Singapore Book of Records as the “most consecutive winning rides by a jockey at a single race meeting”.
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2014
8 Nov 2014
The $2 million KF1 Karting Circuit, Singapore’s first international standard permanent karting facility, was officially launched at the Club. It featured a 960m-long dual directional circuit, the only one of its kind in the world, designed by world-renowned Formula One track architect, Herman Tilke. The circuit is equipped to host international karting races.
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2018
4 & 5 Aug 2018
The Club hosted the inaugural GetActive! Singapore event in collaboration with Tote Board and SG Sports. To promote a healthy lifestyle among Singaporeans, various sports try-outs and activities, including Augmented Reality and traditional games were organised for the public. The Club also hosted ActiveSG’s Singapore Cycling Challenge, the first such event on the safety track inside the racetracks.
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2019
7 Jan 2019
Singapore Pools took over all horse betting operations from Singapore Turf Club, while the Club focused on horse racing.
Apr 2019
The first-ever Taiwanese night market opened in Singapore to overwhelming response at The Grounds @ Kranji. Over two exciting weekends (19-21 and 26-28 April), Shilin Ye Shi Singapore presented a feast of Taiwanese street delicacies, entertainment and games galore to a 500,000 strong crowd thronging the Club.
25 & 26 Jul 2019
The Club organised an inaugural Books & Toys Donation Drive for children and youth, receiving around 2,000 items. Together with the books and toys, the Club donated a sum of $30,000 to beneficiary Beyond Social Services.
3 Aug 2019
The Club once again hosted the annual GetActive! Singapore. Featuring sports activities and traditional games, the event was graced by Ms Indranee Rajah, then Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education. More than 200 beneficiaries from Beyond Social Services, CARE Singapore, Deaf Sports Association, Down Syndrome Association, NTUC Health Active Aging and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities participated. It was also an occasion to celebrate Singapore’s 54th birthday.
Nov 2019
The third and largest edition of Artbox Singapore opened at The Grounds @ Kranji and over two weekends (15-17 and 22-24 November), welcomed over 450,000 visitors. The Club organised a ‘Lucky Hydro Dip Horseshoe’ booth at Artbox Singapore to raise funds for charity. A total of $15,000 raised from the sales of customised souvenir horseshoes was donated to the Singapore Children’s Society.
21 Dec 2019
More than 60 children with special needs had the rare opportunity to cycle around the service road of Singapore Turf Club's racetracks. Organised with Ageless Bicyclists, the activity enabled the children and their families to experience cycling in a safe and conducive environment.
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2020
Jan 2020
In response to COVID-19, Singapore Turf Club restricted the number of visitors on race days and ensured safe distancing practices were put in place.
27 Mar 2020
The Singapore Turf Club held its races behind closed doors for the first time due to the escalating COVID-19 situation. Screening of simulcast races were also stopped.
4 Apr 2020
The Club suspended all races due to COVID-19.
11 May 2020
The Club announced that part of the Singapore Racecourse and Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre (STCRC) grounds would be temporarily converted into Community Recovery Facilities for foreign workers recovering from COVID-19. The multi-storey carpark, a portion of carpark B and the sheltered arena at STCRC would house some 3,600 recovering foreign workers. This was a show of unity from the Club in the fight against COVID-19.
11 Jul 2020
The Club received approval from the Government to resume racing behind closed doors. Strict protocols and Safe Management Measures were put in place to ensure closed door races resumed safely and efficiently.