Macau shouts "Wow!" to horse racing and hosts final
China's gambling hub Macau held its final horse race on Saturday. Only half the punters in the stands at Taipa Racecourse placed their final bets, ending a 40-year tradition in the city famous for its casinos.
In January this year, the city government announced it would terminate its contract with MJC 18 years early. Under a 24-year contract signed in 2018, MJC committed millions of dollars to improve infrastructure and expand services.
But that never happened, as equestrian sports in the former Portuguese colony never resumed after the pandemic. The Macau Jockey Club suffered operating losses of more than $311 million last year and its parent company, the Macau Racing Corporation (MHRC), called on the government to terminate its contract.
On the grounds that "horse racing cannot be coordinated with current social development needs" and considering that "in recent years, horse racing has increasingly lost its appeal to local residents and tourists," the government decided to conduct a study on horse racing after careful consideration. Minister of Administration and Justice Zhang Yongchun told reporters in January.
Under the separation agreement, MHRC will transport the owners' horses to other locations until March 31, 2025, and pay severance pay to company employees. (Although the Macau Jockey Club's popularity in Macau has waned, it remains one of the city's largest private employers, with about 800 full-time and 300 part-time employees.)
The land currently occupied by MJC, including Taipa Racecourse, will be returned to the government, but the government has no plans to build another racecourse. Lawmakers have previously raised the possibility of converting the track into a stadium for international sporting events.
Since its establishment as the Macau Equestrian Club in 1980, the Macau Jockey Club has the exclusive right to organize horse racing and horse racing betting in Macau. But equestrian racing never took off in Macau, so the club switched to purebred horse breeds.
In 1991, the Macau Jockey Club was taken over by MHRC, a consortium led by the late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho, which controlled Macau's casino monopoly until 2002.
Horse racing remains popular in neighboring Hong Kong.
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Source: www.casino.org
