Embattled Macau Jockey Club (MJC) is allegedly planning to reduce the horse races starting in December.
The move came after MJC announced a 30 percent reduction in horse betting prize money, which was scheduled to commence last Saturday. However, the decision was withdrawn after receiving strong protests from the employees.
According to the sources heard by AGB, the MJC employees, in particular trainers and jockeys, have protested against the decision to reduce horse betting prize money and the number of races, as their income is highly dependent on races.
Meanwhile, the management of MJC decided not to reduce the horse betting prize money after having a meeting with the employees.
According to the latest data from the Macau gaming regulator, the MJC recorded accumulated losses of MOP2.1 billion ($260.2 million) in 2022, an increase of about MOP200 million ($24.7 million) compared to the previous year, while horse racing revenues dropped from MOP47 million ($5.8 million) in 2021 to MOP39 million ($4.8 million) in 2022.
The gross revenue from horse races stood at MOP32 million ($4 million) in the first nine months of the year. Despite the income improvement from the previous year, the horse race betting turnover is reducing yearly, as in 2019, the betting turnover stood at MOP 491 million ($61 million), and in the three quarters of this year, some recorded MOP 162 million ($20.1 million).
MJC operations could shutter as early as December, with employees possibly being made redundant afterward reportedly. But the rumor was dismissed when the local authorities approved its new 2023/2024 race season schedule.
The new schedule shows the track includes a race almost every week commencing on September 29th and running until August 2024.
