Horse racing, introduced to this region by the British, dates back to more than 150 years in Singapore and more than 130 years in Malaysia.

Racing at the Singapore Turf Club, the Penang Turf Club, the Perak Turf Club and Selangor Turf Club come under the umbrella of the Malayan Racing Association.

The four turf clubs used to take turn to host racing meetings on Saturdays and Sundays but since mid-1999, because of the cross-border ban on the movement of horses, the Singapore Turf Club has been staging races on its own with horses based at the new Kranji racecourse, with races usually held on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The Penang Turf Club, the Perak Turf Club and the Selangor Turf Club take turn to stage meetings at Penang, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur respectively.

Although our horses are not world-beaters yet, Malaysia and Singapore have long been a focus of attention worldwide, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, and to a lesser extent Britain, France, South Africa and America.

This is because the bulk of our horses are imported, some 800 of them yearly. Malaysia produce only 30 odd horses a year at its only stud farm near Ipoh. The feed, food supplements such as vitamins and racing gears are all imported.