SINGAPORE — The announcement on Monday (June 5) that Singapore Turf Club will shut its facility by 2027 means that the club's 180-year history is drawing to a close.

TODAY takes a look at some of the milestones on and off the track at a club that has operated from three locations over its history.

Oct 4, 1842: The Singapore Sporting Club, later the Singapore Turf Club, was established at Farrer Park. The club states on its website that its goal was to "encourage the importation and improvement of horses in the colony" by offering monetary prizes for the winners of horse races.

Feb 23, 1843: The first race was held to commemorate the 24th anniversary of Singapore’s founding by Sir Stamford Raffles. The day of the race was declared a national holiday. 

1924: The club changed its name from the Singapore Sporting Club to the Singapore Turf Club.

1933: The club sold its Serangoon Road Racecourse and used some of the money to buy 98 hectares of land at a rubber estate in Bukit Timah where the Bukit Timah Racecourse later opened.

Jan 1, 1988: The Government established the Singapore Totalisator Board, later the Tote Board, which appointed the Bukit Turf Club as its agent to take over racing and 4D lottery operations from the Singapore Turf Club, which was dissolved.

June 1, 1994: The Bukit Turf Club was renamed by reviving the name Singapore Turf Club to increase Singapore's position on the racing world map and to prepare for the club's upcoming relocation to Kranji. 

Aug 7, 1999: The 124ha Kranji Racecourse, built at a cost of S$500 million, was completed. It could host 30,000 spectators and was the first club in Malaysia or Singapore to introduce night racing, thanks to 41 light towers. 

Sept 25, 1999: The S$350,000 Singapore Cup was held to commemorate the first race in Singapore in 1843. 

March 4, 2000: President SR Nathan officially opened the Kranji Racecourse alongside the inaugural running of the S$3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup, the world's seventh richest horse race at the time.

April 1, 2006: The club injected another S$11 million into boosting the domestic racing industry, including the addition of new feature races.

November 2009: The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre was opened, which granted the public an opportunity to ride horses there. It is still the only riding facility with a dedicated equine surgery centre. 

Nov 8, 2014: The S$2 million KF1 Karting Circuit, Singapore's first international standard permanent karting facility, was opened at the club. The 960m dual-directional circuit is the only one of its type in the world, and is set up to host international karting competitions.

May 11, 2020: The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre and Singapore Racecourse grounds were temporarily transformed into community recovery facilities for foreign workers recovering from Covid-19, with several car parks and a sheltered arena housing roughly 3,600 recovering foreign workers.

June 5, 2023: The Government announced that the Singapore Turf Club will close its facility in Kranji by March 2027 and the site will be redeveloped to “better meet” future land use needs including for public housing, leisure and recreation.