New racecourse in Philippines just months away from lift-off in much-needed boost to Asian racing scene

A state-of-the-art racecourse in the Philippines is slated to open in the last quarter of this year, providing a long-term home for thoroughbred racing in the Asian nation and certainty for the country’s industry participants.

The pandemic may have effectively sounded the death knell for the fellow Asian racing jurisdictions of Macau and Singapore, the former closing at the end of March and the latter’s expiration date of October 6 fast approaching, but it was the outbreak of Covid-19 that sparked a group of Filipino racing enthusiasts into action, the cohort banding together to ensure the viability of the gambling sport in their home country.

Two of three racecourses in the Philippines have closed in recent years and the Metro Manila Turf Club – located in the country’s capital and currently the only active racetrack – is operating on a short-term five-year lease and it is expected to share the racing calendar once the Philippine Jockey Club is up and running.

The new sand-based racecourse, situated on a 50-hectare parcel of land at Padre Garcia in the Batangas region, about 90 kilometres south of the capital Manila, is expected to be ready to race as early as October this year. 

The HAPI Jockey CIub, which will operate the Philippine Jockey Club, was granted a 25-year franchise by the government in a deed signed by the nation’s president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, allowing the club to build and manage racetracks in the Batangas, Laguna and Cavite regions.

Philippine Jockey Club director Manny Viray, a former Philippine thoroughbred stud owner and Manila racing television pundit who also acts as a bloodstock agent, revealed the group had raised a billion pesos (£13.56m/€15.87m) to fund the initial building of the new racetrack.

Philippine Jockey Club director Manny Viray

“With that I was able to convince the group of breeders and horse owners to come up with a plan to secure a national franchise in government for a new racetrack,” Viray told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“We're not even here to make money out of the property, we're here to build something for our horses and the racing industry.”

Last year, ANZ Bloodstock News reported that investors in Thailand, a group focusing on the capital Bangkok, and another which had secured a parcel of land in the region of Isan, were planning on building new racecourses on greenfield sites in the country.

However, the Philippine development is far more advanced than those planned for Thailand, with the new racecourse, which has been modelled on US dirt tracks Santa Anita and Churchill Downs, set to have capacity for up to 1,400 horses in training, with 1,200 boxes built initially.

Eight trainers, who have enough horses to fill about 70 per cent of the boxes, have already applied to relocate to the complex, which will be able to conduct day and night race meetings on its 1,600-metre circuit. Stablehand lodgings, veterinary facilities and training tracks are also being constructed at the site.

The Philippines thoroughbred breeding industry produces 300 to 400 locally born foals a year, while the majority of its imported racing stock is purchased out of America.

The racecourse is based about 90 kilometres south of the Philippines' capital Manila

However, despite the disadvantages of buying horses bred to southern hemisphere time, Viray says Australia provides an important opportunity for Philippine owners and trainers.

Over the past seven years, Philippine buyers have bought 86 horses at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale for an aggregate spend of A$1,729,000 (£908,000/€1,060,000). At the corresponding Magic Millions 2YOs in Training Sales over the same period, the cohort has bought 46 horses at a total spend of A$2,028,500.

Viray is confident that the Philippine Jockey Club can establish an “international stature” but to do that he believes the country’s owners will have to import more horses to sustain the industry.

He also hopes to be able to remove a racing stipulation that bans the gelding of imported colts, a rule that was originally put in place “to improve the local breed”.

Viray said: “We have a breeding operation here in the Philippines and most of the breeders are passionate, but it's difficult to breed in our area because of our situation. 

“It’s not very profitable and the availability of stallions and staff to handle them are limited, so the answer is to import them. 

“There will be a need to repopulate because we cannot just remain stagnant with the number of horses we have. 

Philippine buyers have been present at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale in recent yearsCredit: Magic Millions

“We want new investors. We want new players, younger people to get involved in racing.”

Equine International Airfreight has transported the Australia-sourced horses to the Philippines.

Viray said: “Hopefully we can convince the government, through the Racing Commission, to give us a privilege of subsidised importation of horses by way of lower taxes, by way of air freight or whatever, just to be able to repopulate for a next number of years so that racing becomes more appealing.”

To underpin the prize-money for racing in the Philippines – the Metro Manila Turf Club has purses of US$3,000 up to US$100,000 for the feature Presidential Gold Cup on offer, with meetings scheduled up to five times a week – betting shops, totalling more than 200 located in Manila, will allow easy access to totaliser betting on local racing.

The PJC is hoping to gain approval from the government to expand those betting shops into other cities to increase wagering turnover. 

The Philippine Racing Commission, which falls under the Office of the President, regulates the sport of thoroughbred racing in the country, while the wagering side and the running of the totaliser falls to the Games and Amusement Board.

Part of the new racecourse is high-end broadcast facilities, allowing the club’s meetings to be shown internationally, with the end goal of countries such as Australia being able to bet on the Jockey Club’s meetings and watch them on Sky Racing.

Stewards, racecallers and equine veterinarians could also be brought in from overseas to help run the meetings.

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