KUALA LUMPUR:  Feb 10, 2011

Prizemoney for the major races in Malaysia is set for a big downwards revision this season.

The Tunku Gold Cup to be run this Sunday is worth only RM300,000, down by half from last year.

In fact, the reduction had already begun last December when the Penang Turf Club slashed the prizemoney for the Yang Di Pertua Negeri Gold Cup to RM750,000, down from RM1.35 mil in 2009.

Early last year, the Club had announced that the prizemoney for the Gold Cup would be raised to RM1.5 mil "to encourage the importation of quality horses".

But things took a drastic turn when the turnover in Malaysia for 2010 saw a decrease of 15%, the biggest decline for a single year. Attendances for the year were also down by 10%.

As a result, Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd (PMP), the Totalisator Board of Malaysia's appointed tote operator, cut their funding to the three Malaysian clubs by 20%.

Faced with falling revenue and funding, the clubs have no choice but to reduce the level of prizemoney for the major races.

As a cost cutting measure, PMP have also decided not to continue with the Malaysian 3YO Championship series which cost them RM1 mil in sponsorship last year.