Manila Jockey Club, Megaworld team up for San Lazaro hub upgrade

Premier horse racing club Manila Jockey Club Inc. is bolstering its property development pipeline by teaming up with tycoon Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. to develop the remaining 1.67-hectare land in its former home in Sta. Cruz, Manila, into a new residential and commercial complex.

Since relocating its horse racing activities to Carmona, Cavite, in 2003, Manila Jockey has redeveloped the San Lazaro Hippodrome into a residential and commercial complex now known as the San Lazaro Tourism and Business Park (SLTBP). The total 16-hectare property features Winford Hotel and Casino, a business process outsourcing (BPO) office and a residential complex developed by Ayala Land and its subsidiaries, and a shopping mall built by SM Prime.

The remaining 1.67-hectare property in the former horse racing site would be developed under a joint venture with Megaworld, giving rise to King’s Plaza, envisioned to be an upscale, mixed-use complex with a five-level commercial podium, three residential towers and ample parking facilities, Manila Jockey said in a press statement.

The residential towers would have 42 stories each, creating new residential inventory for home-seekers in Manila’s Chinatown area. The project would offer a combination of studio and one- to three-bedroom units.

SLTBP is a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-registered economic zone. Apart from SM San Lazaro, the site features state-of-the art BPO facility Vertex One and residential hubs Celadon Park, Avida Towers and Celadon Residences.

Manila Jockey, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary and thus making it one of Asia’s oldest horse racing operators, started as a social club for racing aficionados from prominent Spanish, American, and Filipino families in Manila. It has since then diversified operations to cover gaming, property development, leisure, tourism and sports.

A sprawling 77-hectare property in Carmona, Cavite, called the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park (SLLBP), is now the site of the club’s horse racing operations.

Likewise a Peza-registered, multipurpose leisure complex, the site features two all-weather race tracks designed by Japan Racing Facilities Ltd.; a 1,600-horse stable complex; and a four-story steel and glass Turf Building, which has banquet rooms, a grandstand and VIP viewing boxes.

SLLBP also features Canyon Ranch, a 17-hectare residential project developed through a joint venture with Century Properties. The development is composed of 800 houses with a multilevel clubhouse, basketball court, gym facilities and swimming pools.

SLLBP is also envisioned to be the next football mecca of the Philippines. Aside from a pitch size following global standards, related structures including locker rooms, dormitories and other training facilities would be built to give way to the National Football Center, the official training center of the national football teams.