The Singapore Sporting Club was founded on 4 October 1842 by Scottish merchant William Henry Macleod Read to operate the Serangoon Road Race Course at Farrer Park Field.[3]
In February 1843, the club held its first race, the inaugural Singapore Cup race, to mark the 24th anniversary of the founding of modern Singapore by Stamford Raffles.[3] It also accepted bets on horse racing and ran 4-Digits (4D) draws.[4]
In 1924, the club changed its name to the Singapore Turf Club and held the inaugural Singapore Gold Cup race, which then became an annual.[3]
To expand the racecourse and racing activities, the club sold Serangoon Road Racecourse to the Singapore Improvement Trust for $1.5 million and bought 98 ha (980,000 square metres) of the Bukit Timah Rubber Estate at a cost of $850,000 to build the Bukit Timah Race Course.[3]
The Club moved to Bukit Timah on 15 April 1933 and was opened by the Governor of Singapore, Cecil Clementi.[5]
During the Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II, racing was stopped and banned by the Japanese.[6] After the war, the club reopened on 15 November 1947.[6]
Sunday racing was included from 1959 onwards.[6]
In 1960, the club opened to the public and they were allowed to attend the races.[6]
In 1981, the North Grandstand was built to accommodate the public.[6]
In 1987, the Ministry of Finance announced the formation of the Tote Board to control the income earned from the Club via horse racing betting and 4D draws.[4] In 1988, the Tote Board was formed and wanted the club to run horse racing and 4D operations on its behalf but the proposal was rejected by the club.[4][7] In response, the Tote Board formed the Bukit Turf Club (BTC) as an agent to operate both activities.[4] The Club appealed to the Tote Board to absorb the BTC's constitution and rules but retaining its original name and members.[8] It was rejected by the Tote Board.[8] The club's staff was re-employed by BTC and its assets, including its reserves, were taken over by the Tote Board.[8]
The Singapore Turf Club was deregistered.[9]