The first such a race is planned for July in Penang and it will be the first time in more than five years racegoers can watch Malaysian based and Singapore based horses compete against each other.

Penang Turf Club president Dato Ong Eng Khuan first gave a hint of this during the 140th anniversary dinner of the club on December 24, 2004 when he said "the billion dollar racing industry should continue to improve in the year 2005 with the likely resumption of movement of horses for racing on both sides of the causeway."

The three Malaysian turf clubs, Penang, Perak and Selangor, and the Singapore Turf Club, which make up the Malayan Racing Association (MRA), have been discussing the possibilities of merging racing again.

It has been reported that the MRA Secretariat in Singapore has written to The Agri-Food and

Veterinary Authority (AVA) Singapore and Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia (DVS), to establish protocol procedures.

The MRA Handicapping sub-committee will meet here tomorrow to establish guidelines for the emergence and discuss issues such as the number of horses eligible to participate, ratings and the number of isolation stables.

The AVA has agreed in principle to PNTC’s site and building plans for the isolation of visiting horses from Singapore, subject to approval when completed.

PNTC has called for tenders and will award it to the successful contractor at the end of this month.