Manila Jockey Club quits horse racing in favor of real estate biz

Manila Jockey Club Inc. (MJC), the country’s premier horse racing club and one of Asia’s oldest, is bowing out of its 155-year-old horse racing operations to focus on more profitable real estate ventures.

MJC said, however, it could still revive this storied business in the future by filing for a new legislative franchise, either under its own name or through a new wholly owned subsidiary.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, MJC said its congressional franchise for horse racing would expire on Oct. 23. Its board had decided it would not pursue an application for renewal, voting to exit the business for now.

Race aficionados

Sans a new horse racing franchise, the company said it would focus on real estate ventures while leasing existing properties.

“The board expects no significant impact on the company’s financial condition in 2022 and in the years to come. The cessation allows the company to pivot to more stable revenue streams,” the MJC disclosure read.

The company started in 1867 as a social club for horse racing aficionados from prominent Spanish, American and Filipino families in Manila. MJC was then established as a business entity in 1937.

MJC relocated its old race track from Sta. Cruz, Manila to Carmona, Cavite in 2003 to unlock rising property values. It then diversified into gaming, property development, leisure, tourism and sports operations. The old estate in Manila was later transformed into a mixed-use complex with integrated gaming resort, office, retail and residential developments.

At the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona, MJC maintains two racetracks and the Turf Club Building, which can hold thousands of spectators. The club has been hosting races twice a week with alternating schedules.

Despite several cancelled racing schedules during the prolonged pandemic, the club staged a total of 632 races in 66 racing days in 2021, more than thrice the previous year’s activities.

Reduction in expenses

MJC, which is controlled by the Reyno family, led other clubs in terms of sales in 2021 by grossing P1.034 billion or 45.35 percent of the total revenue generated by the Philippine horse racing industry despite having fewer racing days than others. There are two other racing clubs in the country: Philippine Racing Club, Inc. and Metro Manila Turf Club Inc.

With the shutdown of its legacy business, MJC estimated a “substantial reduction in operating expenses that will more than offset the loss in horse racing revenues.”

“The retirement and/or separation from service of the officers and employees involved in horse racing operations, as well as the savings in the maintenance of the 60,000-square meter (sqm) property in Cavite, significantly contributed to the reduction in operating expenses,” the disclosure read.