SINGAPORE,  May 3, 2010

The Singapore Turf Club will be introducing three new feature races to be run on the polytrack.

This brings to 30 the number of feature races – both polytrack and turf - that the Club conducts from around 930 races held throughout the year.

The three new feature races have all been afforded Singapore Group 3 status. They each will carry prizemoney of $200,000 and have been introduced to increase the feature race opportunities for the top horses racing in Singapore.

The Woodlands Handicap over 1200m is open to three-year-olds and above and, as its name suggests, is run under handicap conditions. It will be held in early September as a prelude to the Group 3 Paititi Gold Trophy later that month.

The Polytrack Mile Championship, run over 1600m, will be conducted under weight-for-age conditions for three-year-olds and over in early March as a lead-up to the 1800m Group 3 Moonbeam Vase held at the end of that month.

The New Year’s Cup, run over 1900m, will be an annual event that is conducted on new year’s day each year. It will be a handicap for three-year-olds and above and complements the Group 3 Proinn Construct Stakes run in early December and is a part of the Club’s efforts to attract better stayers into Singapore.

By racing the new feature races on the polytrack, the Club hopes to also provide a better gauge of the top horses racing on the synthetic surface which could then lead to some of these horses then performing at the Dubai Racing Carnival which has a large number of races run on a synthetic surface.