Zyrul Nor Asman, 35, who became a professional jockey three years ago, has spent the last 13 years working with horses. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nor Azman choked up a little as he talked about the closure.
“This news is very sad … I have a new family, my wife is losing sleep,” he said, tearing up.
“Our skill sets are very unique, we’ve been doing this for over 10 years … there’s no other turf club. There are riding centres but that’s totally different … it’s not what we are trained to do.”
He’s concerned that he will not be able to find another job with a similar salary, which for him is about S$6,000 (US$4,500) a month, excluding prize money from winning races.
“I live in a four-room HDB flat … we’re not living like superstars,” he said. “I have a family to feed and two small kids and I really don’t know what I can do.”
A fair proportion of jockeys here are foreigners, and there are about 30 jockeys from Singapore and Malaysia based at the Kranji racecourse. Professional Singaporean jockeys number fewer than 10, interviewees said.
Including syces or grooms and other stable hands, there are a few hundred workers affected.