Increased prizemoney for Malaysia

IPOH,  13 Feb 2009

The three Malaysian turf clubs will increase the prizemoney for all classes effective this April.

The level of prizemoney will be the same as that offered by Singapore Turf Club, on a Ringgit-for-Dollar basis.

The new prizemoney structure will be:
 
Class New Prizemoey Current Prizemoney
1 RM125,000 RM 78,000
2 RM  95,000 RM 63,000
3 RM  75,000 RM 43,000
4 RM  55,000 RM 37,000
5 RM  35,000 RM 30,000
Maiden RM  35,000 RM 30,000
Restricted Maiden RM  65,000 RM 35,000

The three clubs will also introduce Initiation, Novice and Graduation races with prizemoney of RM65,000 each and Progress races with stakes of RM75,000 each, as is practiced in Singapore.

The decision to increase the prizemoney is long overdue and will certainly revive the ailing racing industry in Malaysia, said Dato Ong Eng Khuan, chairman of Totalisator Board of Malaysia who is also the president of Penang Turf Club.

"It's timely in light of the present tough economic times. The increase should give a boost to horse owners who have been crying out for higher stakes.

"It's a lifeline thrown to our racing industry which has been in a doldrums for sometime now."