The Royal Turf Club of Thailand (RTCT) will relocate its racecourse to a new spot in Bangkok, Gen Watthanachai Chaimueanwong, chairman of the RTCT's board of directors revealed on Saturday.
Nong Chok district in eastern Bangkok is likely to be the new location, he said, after chairing a general assembly of the RTCT held mainly to decide whether the RTCT would continue its operation of the track.
The racecourse on Phitsanulok Road in Dusit district, better known as Nang Loeng Racecourse, ceased operations last Sunday as required, to return the 200 rai of land to the Crown Property Bureau by Oct 4.
The bureau informed the RTCT in a letter dated April 4 that it would have to reclaim the Nang Loeng Racecourse land after the last set of three lease contracts for the land ended in 1999, according to previous media reports in April.
The bureau requested that the RTCT remove its property and people from the land and return it within 180 days, said the reports.
The RTCT was also required to pay off all outstanding rent before leaving.
Gen Watthanachai said the RTCT's board resolved to seek negotiations with its debtors over a possible suspension of more than 1.3 billion baht in debts until the new racecourse is built and the horse racing resumes.
The RTCT is in talks with two or three major financiers interested in jointly investing in a new RTCT track, he said.
He declined to go into detail as to who the financiers mentioned might be.
The RTCT intends to pay off all its debts and continue operating a racecourse on a new site, he said.
Built during the reign of King Rama VI, the track would have celebrated its 102nd anniversary on Dec 18 if it had not had to leave the Nang Loeng location.
Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit, deputy chairman of the RTCT board, admitted last week the turf club was at risk of going bankrupt after having incurred debts totalling 1.5 billion baht.
The debts are mainly taxes the RTCT owes to the Revenue Department and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said Gen Boonlert. No further details were available.
Gen Watthanachai was appointed at Saturday's meeting of the RTCT to continue serving as board chairman of the RTCT.
