Penang track to close for nine months

PENANG,  12 Nov 2009

The main track of the Penang Turf Club (PNTC) racecourse at Batu Gantong will be closed for nine months from July next year to facilitate remedial work on the track.

Racing at Batu Gantong has been at the mercy of the elements for "far too long", an editorial in the PNTC magazine Front Runner states.

In recent times, two important meetings in Penang have been cancelled as a result of water-logged track.

The second weekend of the Sprint Trophy Meeting in 2006 and 2007 was called off, prompting the cancellation of the Astro Wah Lai Toi Sprint Trophy in 2006.

In 2007, the PNTC decided on a one-off postponement of the Sprint Trophy and staged it during the December meeting.

The temporary closure of the main track will begin after the running of the Sprint Trophy Meeting in June/July and will affect four meetings in the second half of the year. These meetings will be staged at either Ipoh or Penang.

As a result, next year's Yang Di Pertua Negeri Gold Cup, with increased stakes of RM1.5m, will be staged at Sungei Besi in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysia Magic Millions Classic, which has been moved from mid-year to end of year next season, will also be run at Sungei Besi.