Members and owners are hosted in the five storey Racing Complex which can accommodate 3000 people, while the public have access to the first three floors of the Grandstand, which also houses the press box and can accommodate 15000 people.
Formerly known as the Macau Trotting Club, the Macau Turf Club held its first flat race on the 10th of September 1989. Two years later, a consortium led by Dr. Stanley Ho acquired the Macau Jockey Club.
Racing takes place all year round, on both tracks, with night racing on a Friday and a day or twilight meeting on weekends.
Macau’s horse population is around 600 and owners have to become members of the Macau Jockey Club in order to purchase horses via a private purchasing scheme. Housed in 14 stable blocks, the complex can accommodate up to 1183 horses and includes an international standard quarantine barn, which can hold up to 60 horses. Racehorses can be imported from 11 countries including Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE.
For the 2014/2015 season, 26 trainers were granted licences, with Pat Lee currently heading the rankings with 24 winners, while Panamanian jockey Luis Corrales tops the jockeys’ standings with 52 victories.
Recent feature races include the Gr.1 Macau Guineas (1500m), the first leg of the Macau Triple Crown, the Gr.1 Macau Derby (1800m), the second leg of the Triple Crown and the Gr.1 Macau Hong Kong Trophy (1500m).
Run on the 22nd of March, the Macau Guineas was a start to finish victory for Australian import Gold Alloy, ridden by Horrace Lam for trainer K C Chong and owner Mr Lee Yuen Fat.
The Macau Hong Kong Trophy, run on the 18th of April went the way of Hong Kong trainer Dennis Yip, with Olivier Doleuze steering the evergreen nine-year-old Gurus Dream to victory, while the Macau Derby on the same day, was won in emphatic fashion by the Joe Lau trained The Alfonso. Not only did the Alfonso win by five and a quarter lengths, but he set a new track record under Nash Rawiller and gave Lau victory in the only Macau feature that had eluded him.
