End of an Era: Macau Horse Racing Concession Terminated

Horse racing in the Chinese casino hub of Macau will be consigned to history after the club's concession from the government to operate racing was terminated.

In recent years, the Macau Jockey Club has seen attendance fall and racked up losses exceeding $310 million.

On April 1, horse racing in the southern Chinese casino hub will be consigned to history after the club's concession from the government to operate racing was terminated.

Macau held its first thoroughbred races in 1989, when still under Portuguese rule, and the sport found success after a takeover in 1991 by Stanley Ho, the late casino tycoon nicknamed "King of Gambling".

In recent years, the Macau Jockey Club -- chaired by Ho's fourth wife Angela Leong -- saw attendances fall and racked up losses exceeding $310 million.

Racing in Macau has dwindled to just one day per week and one of the last meetings, on March 17, drew around three hundred spectators.

Antonio Lobo Vilela, a gaming law expert and former legal adviser to the Macau government, decried the sport's demise at a time when Beijing is displaying a growing interest.

Hit hard by the pandemic and economic uncertainties, horse racing has faced a downturn in parts of Asia, with Singapore announcing last year that 180 years of racing will end in October 2024.

Six years ago, Macau's racing license was extended by 24 years in return for $190 million of investment by the Macau Jockey Club on renovations and non-gaming facilities, such as hotels.

China issued a five-year blueprint in 2020 for "national equine industry development" and plans to start racing in the nearby mainland city of Guangzhou next year.

The Macau government said it had studied the "reasons offered by the Macau Jockey Club, its actual operating situation, and the public interest" before deciding to axe racing.