The fall of Singapore: Australasia’s auction houses in shock

Cover image courtesy of the Singapore Turf Club

If history has a habit of repeating itself, it was such on Monday evening when the Singapore Turf Club confirmed long-running rumours that it was closing Kranji Racecourse, effective October 5 next year when the last meeting will occur.

All of a sudden, it was the end of 180 years of racing in the ‘Lion City’, an industry, sport and pastime that has been ongoing on the island since 1842 (the first meeting was in 1843).

In a statement, the Singapore Turf Club confirmed it was handing back to the government the land on which Kranji sits, which is a tidy parcel to the north of Singapore. Housing, leisure and recreation were quoted as potential future uses alongside ‘the evolving needs and aspirations of Singaporeans’.

It’s the second time this has happened to the city in the last 30 years.

In 1999, Bukit Timah Racecourse was closed after continual racing since 1933, making way for the future of Kranji. The grandstand was repurposed for shopping and dining, but since then, it has largely gone untouched.

The Singapore Turf Club has promised it’s business as usual until the final meeting next year, with planning in place for the very last race to be the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup. However, there’s no sugar-coating the raw reality of Monday’s news for anyone involved in Singapore horse racing.

Gallery: Bukit Timah Racecourse, images courtesy of the Singapore Turf Club

“I am bloody sad,” said David Chester, who has spent much of his career at Magic Millions fostering the company’s exceptional relationships in Asia. “I am really, really sad, and not just for Magic Millions. I’m sad for the participants up there and for the history.

“I reckon Lee Kuan Yew, one of the great prime ministers of all time in the world, would be turning over in his grave that a government he set up would do something like this.”

Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister of Singapore, sworn in in 1959 when Singapore became a self-governing state from British rule. He remained in office until 1990, setting up a government that widely supported horse racing.

“He could see that racing was great for Singapore in terms of employment and tourism,” Chester said. “People used to head to Singapore for the big meetings from all over the world. They even had Queen Elizabeth visit in 1972, and now all that tradition and history is down the drain.”

Chester is visibly upset by the news this week. His relationships in Singapore are well-beyond client relations; they are genuine friendships with trainers, buyers and owners. Chester has been flying in and out of Singapore for decades, and welcoming Singapore buyers to every Magic Millions sale for just as long.

In his eyes, Singapore was the best racing centre in Asia. Anyone could race a horse there because it wasn’t moderated by numbers as is Hong Kong, for example. Chester says with the right governance, Singapore racing could have been anything.

Like many, he learned of its imminent closure last week at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale. Among his Asian buyers, text messages were flooding in that Kranji was closing. But these were rumours that had been flying around for years, so no one was sure how much weight they now carried.

“I still can’t believe it,” Chester said. “I nearly wanted to cry, that’s how devastating it was. We had sales up there in the 1990s, and we ran the million-dollar race in Singapore when Singapore was absolutely flying.

“I’ve got to say it’s an absolute disgrace that the government and Singapore Turf Club have let the club decline to this level where they now just want to get rid of it.”

At the 2022 Magic Millions 2YOs In Training Sale, Singapore buyers accounted for 16 of the 140 youngsters in the catalogue. They went the way of people like Bevan Smith and Wattle Bloodstock’s (FBAA) Peter Twomey. Thoroughbred Owners Association & Sports Trust bought six, and Te Akau Racing was present with Donna Logan, the group’s Kranji-based trainer.

Last year at the 2022 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale, Philippines-based Sandy Javier paid $200,000 for a Justify (USA) colt sold by Yulong, and that colt is poised for his first start in Singapore.

In fact, the first 2-year-old race of the Singapore season was held last Saturday, with Magic Millions graduates taking the quinella.

At the National Yearling Sale last week, to which six Singapore trainers flew in, it was likely that the rumour mill stymied almost all buying, with only two horses purchased among them. At the same sale last year, that figure was 21.

“What annoys me is that the Singapore Turf Club sent these trainers down to the National Sale, at Magic Millions’ expense, knowing they were going to close things down next year,” Chester said. “It’s been very badly handled, and forget for a moment about Magic Millions. What about the poor participants up there… the trainers, owners and jockeys? It’s just a disgrace.”

Chester, like everyone, has only theories about what went wrong in Singapore.

He disputes the land angle, saying Bukit Timah has been hardly touched since it was closed in 1999. He said there is extensive unused land around Kranji Racecourse already, and there was no reason why the club couldn’t do a Happy Valley and redevelop vacant land with high-rise and amenities flanking the track and stables.

“They’ve been talking about it for probably seven or eight years,” he said. “But the land is just an excuse. They closed a beautiful old track that was Bukit Timah to move to Kranj, and nothing’s been done there. The land is still unused, so this excuse of needing the land is just rubbish.”

In the last 24 hours, Chester has been on the phone to his industry friends in Singapore. He said they’re confused and devastated.

“The ex-pat and local trainers… what are they going to do? Their livelihoods have been taken and there was no reason for it. Absolutely no reason for it. Unlike Hong Kong, where the government is right behind racing, the Singapore government has never, ever backed racing in any way. It’s always kept at arms’ length because of the gambling.

“And Singapore is the best racing centre in Asia. In Hong Kong, you’ve got to be a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club to race a horse and you’ve got to be a resident, and it’s virtually the same in Korea and Japan. Singapore could be so good if it was managed properly, and the management has been absolutely abysmal.”

It’s pretty scary

Magic Millions is one of the ‘big three’ auction houses in Australasia reeling from the news out of Singapore this week. Across the Tasman, New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) is absorbing the situation too.

Singapore, traditionally, has represented the third-biggest off-shore market for NZB and, at the 2022 NZB Ready to Run Sale last November, Singapore accounted for 24 purchases in the 329-horse catalogue. Much of those 24 are lining up for their first starts shortly.

Those 24 purchases amassed a total Singaporean spend of NZ$1,892,000 at the Ready to Run Sale last year, compared to NZ$563,000 for 14 lots at the same sale the year before. In other words, a lack of Singapore presence will be felt.

Andrew Seabrook, the company’s managing director, told TDN AusNZ that he was shocked by the latest news.

“The rumours had been circulating for a little while, as it has done in the past when the Singapore Turf Club’s lease has come up for renewal, but I’m still in disbelief,” he said. “I really feel for the industry participants up there… the jockeys, trainers, grooms. A lot of lives are going to be affected by this.

“From New Zealand’s point of view, it’s going to have a significant impact. Singapore has been our third-biggest market for many years, and I recall having three sales up there in the early 2000s. NZB had a Ready to Run Sale in Singapore, so after Hong Kong and Australia, it has been the most substantial market for us for many years.”

Regular Singapore buyers at NZB have included David Ellis for his Singaporean Te Akau arm with trainer Donna Logan, but also the Lim’s Stable and young trainer Jason Ong. These are a few of the many with whom NZB has blossomed excellent, long-standing relationships that have been key to sales success down through the decades.

“It’s fair to say the Singapore participation in our sales hasn’t been as strong as it was five to 10 years ago,” Seabrook said. “But it was still a very important market for us. Even though it now seems like it was coming for a while, everyone was still blindsided, I think, by the news last night.

“Racing in Singapore has been ongoing almost as long as it has in New Zealand, so to think that a government can bring it to a halt like this is pretty scary.”

So where to now for NZB filling the Singapore hole?

“We’re going to have to work harder and smarter in developing new markets or expanding existing ones,” Seabrook said. “At the Ready to Run Sale last year, Malaysia actually spent more than Singapore, and that was the first time that had happened. The Selangor Turf Club was very active, and Korea has stepped back into the picture for the first time in a few years too.

“But there’s no hiding the loss of the Singapore market. It’s a blow to us.”

It’s very, very unfortunate

At Inglis, there’s a similarly grim opinion of how a once-vibrant racing economy can be run into the ground in a lifetime. Sebastian Hutch, Inglis' bloodstock CEO, told us on Tuesday that the facts of the situation are still coming to light.

“When the news first broke, there wasn’t a lot of detail around how it was going to play out,” he said. “Now we’ve a little bit more detail, and the more time you have to dwell on it, the more disappointing it becomes. It’s an established racing jurisdiction of some 180 years, and given the relatively short notice of the closure, you could say it’s a bit shocking.”

Hutch said that Singapore has had an active presence across the Inglis sales calendar all year, both live auctions and online, and that’s probably a point of difference for Inglis. The company has collared that online market brilliantly in Australia, and Singapore was an enormous presence on the tried-horse bench.

At the 2022 Ready2Run Sale last year, Singaporean buyers signed the tickets for 32 2-year-olds. The total spend was $2,175,500.

“People have been buying horses from us with the specific intention of racing them in Singapore,” Hutch said. “How those people can be supported through this process, and what alternative opportunities are going to be presented for those owners and trainers and, in particular those horses, isn’t clear at this moment. Time will reveal what opportunities are available for those elements of the equation, but it’s just very, very unfortunate.”

From Inglis’ perspective, Hutch said the Singapore presence has ebbed and flowed the last few years. However, in the last three years, in particular, it has flowed well on Inglis Digital.

In 2021, a total of nine Inglis Digital graduates (horses bought with the intention of exporting to Singapore within 60 days) accounted for a $405,000 total spend and a $45,000 average, while in 2022, those figures increased to 19 horses exported for a $1,159,000 total spend and a $61,000 average.

This year alone, right up to the Inglis Digital May (Late) Online Sale, those figures were already 16 horses exported for Singapore for a $1,092,500 spend, with a $68,281 average.

“The demand for tried horses for Singapore in the last 12 months has been really excellent,” Hutch said. “It was a great trade option for a lot of people, and similarly, it was fantastic to see a lot of Australian breeders or traders enjoy a lot of success in Singapore.

“So any time you lose a market participant it’s a setback, but at this stage, our thoughts are more with those participants and their horses, and how things are going to play out for them, rather than the market impact at this stage.”

The world is watching

Commitments by the Singapore Turf Club to bow out gracefully in the next 18 months have largely fallen on deaf ears the last 36 hours. Who can blame them?

The club’s President and Chief Executive, Irene Lim, said the club was “committed to seeing this phase of the nation’s history come to an end in a dignified manner befitting all our stakeholders... We hope to leave a lasting impression of the club that will be fondly and proudly remembered by Singapore and the world.”

However, this hasn’t been reverberated in feedback, with widespread criticism of the announcement.

In The Straits Times newspaper on Tuesday, 75-year-old local Danny Pillai said he had been following each weekend’s racing in Singapore since the days of Bukit Timah. Violet Lee, a former Singapore Turf Club manager and 1984 Miss Singapore Universe, said the news was shocking.

“So much history there and full of enchanting stories of man and horse. Horse racing is part of our heritage and history. Racing supports charity and nation building. Very sad that it’s now gone,” she said.

Media around the world has interviewed trainers and former trainers, jockeys and die-hard locals, and Michael Clements, a trainer and president of the Association of Racehorse Trainers Singapore, was quoted as saying there is every chance of an extension on the 16-month termination.

Either way, David Chester said the eyes of the world will be on how Singapore manages to expatriate its 600-strong army of local racehorses.

“I don’t know how they’re going to do that, and the world is watching,” he said. “Malaysia is full, with the stables in Kuala Lumpur not able to have too many more. As one trainer said to me last night, he will no longer be an employed trainer as of October 2024. He’ll have a stable full of horses, and who’s going to take them over? Who’s going to look after them?”

Andrew Seabrook also acknowledged this fact.

“There’s going to be a need to relocate hundreds of horses,” he said. “Possibly the logical places to send them will be Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, so there will be that to look through too.”

As Seabrook said, it’s all a bit raw in these early days since Monday’s announcement, and people are still unsure as to the real motivations behind it. Is it the image of gambling that was the problem for the Singapore government, or is it the land value? No one seems to know.

“For Magic Millions, the closure doesn’t mean a lot in dollar terms,” Chester said. “But it means a lot in personal contact, friendships and the association that we’ve had with Singapore for so long. My office is full of platters and plates from the Singapore Turf Club for our sponsorships and all the things we’ve done up there over the years.

“There’s no racing country in the world that has done anything like this. I can’t quite get my head around them making this decision.”