A meeting between the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) and horse owners took place last Friday, with sources telling Inside Asian Gaming that a number of owners are “furious” with the termination of the MJC’s concession and demanding compensation.
As previously reported by IAG, the Macau government announced on 15 January the termination of the MJC’s 24-year concession, effective from 1 April 2024. On the same afternoon the MJC held a press conference of its own but did not allow a question-and-answer session, instead revealing they would meet with owners later in the month.
According to information gleaned, that meeting took place on 26 January but no members of MJC management were in attendance. It is understood the meeting focused on future arrangements for horses, which the government has stated must be relocated to mainland China by 31 March 2025.
IAG understands owners were presented with two options at the meeting: one, to transfer ownership of the horses to the MJC with no subsequent need to pay for their maintenance; or two, ship their horses to other countries and pay a monthly fee of MOP$8,000 for their maintenance until they are permanently relocated to the mainland.
Sources told IAG that many horse owners expressed their dissatisfaction and were “angry” about the meeting, with some suggesting the MJC is “passing the responsibility to the horse owners to solve the problem, rather than helping them.”
“If the horses are transferred to the Jockey Club, the Club has not offered any compensation, but if they are transported overseas by the owners themselves, the quarantine and transportation costs are the responsibility of the owners,” the source said.
Horse owners have been asked to give the MJC an answer by this Friday 2 February.
It has also been revealed that the MJC has suggested four export destinations for horses: Mainland China, Malaysia, the United States and Europe, with other destinations awaiting approval.
The MJC will also retain some of its stable staff to look after the horses until they are transferred to other locations.
Meanwhile, the MJC has suspended this Friday’s planned race meet for the second week running, explaining on its official website that “most horses have already experienced a long period of racing since September, and frequent racing is not conducive to the health of the horses.”
The MJC currently has 289 horses needing to be relocated by 31 March 2025.
