Thousands gather to witness final horse races at Singapore Turf Club

Queues form early to gain admission as visitors bid farewell to 182-year heritage

- Kimberly Kwek

With the shutters to come down on the Singapore Turf Club (STC), about 10,000 racegoers turned up at the Kranji facility for one last hurrah on Oct 5.

Home of Singapore horse racing since 1842, the STC marked the end of its 182-year chapter in local history with a grand farewell featuring 10 races - culminating in the $1.38 million Grand Singapore Gold Cup.

The 124ha land will be returned to the Government by March 2027 and is set to make way for housing and other developments.

All the free admission tickets to Grandstand Level 1 at the Turf Club were snapped up online, and a limited number of free Grandstand Level 1 tickets were available for on-site redemption on Sept 21 and 28, and Oct 5.

At 9.30am, 30 minutes before the doors opened, a queue of about 100 people had gathered to try to secure tickets and entry into the venue.

Among them were office worker Michelle Tan and her mother, two of the first few people in the queue.

The 26-year-old has been riding horses - her steeds are mainly former race horses - for the past three years, and wanted to witness the final races here.

She said: "(There is) over 180 years of horse racing culture in Singapore; it is a shame that it is just ending like that.