Racecourse opens in Binh Duong

Course to host range of racing events, with gambling prohibited.

The Dai Nam Joint Stock Company held an opening ceremony for its international standard racecourse costing more than VND2 trillion ($90.9 million) in the southern province of Binh Duong on May 1, attended by senior government officials.

Deputy Chairman of the Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee, Mr. Dang Minh Hung, told the ceremony that in addition to spurring economic development, the province has also focused on promoting cultural activities using private resources to meet entertainment and leisure demands, which include the Dai Nam Tourism Park and the Dai Nam racecourse.

Construction began last July on an area of 60 ha within the tourism park, about 40 km from Ho Chi Minh City, with 30 ha for parking and a grandstand that can seat 50,000 to 60,000 people.

Apart from horse racing it can also host greyhound racing, car racing, motorbike racing, water motorsports, and all-terrain vehicle racing.

Mr. Huynh Uy Dung, Chairman of the Dai Nam JSC, was quoted as saying that “no gambling will be permitted at the racecourse.”

He hopes the tourism park will attract about 5 million visitors a year, up from 2 million now. The racecourse will employ about 300 people with thousands of breeding studs.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s G.O.Max I&D Company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on December 27 with the Vinh Phuc Provincial People’s Committee to build a $1.5 billion entertainment complex, including a racecourse, in the northern province.

The racecourse will be of international standard within a sports and entertainment complex and include the racetrack, a 72-hole golf course, a luxurious villa complex, a sports and entertainment area, an equestrian center and polo club, and housing and villas, located on 750 ha.

Vietnam now has many racecourse projects. In June 2016, south-central Phu Yen province licensed the Australian Golden Turf Club Company to invest in a racecourse with investment of $100 million, to be built on an area of more than 134 ha. The track is expected to be completed in 2019.

The Australian company also received permission from the Binh Phuoc Provincial People’s Committee to expand a racecourse in the southern province. The project has a total area of 100 ha, including a service and commercial center and a healthcare and medical center for elderly citizens, with initial capital expected at over $100 million.

The Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee, meanwhile, approved a racecourse project from the Thien Ma Madagui Racing Joint Stock Company in 2014, with a track and equestrian center. The course was to attract even greater numbers of domestic and foreign tourists to the already popular central highlands province.

by Ngoc Lan / VET