The San Lazaro Leisure Park, officially known as the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park, is a mixed-used venue which features a racetrack in Carmona, Cavite, Philippines. It is the home of the Manila Jockey Club.

San Lazaro Leisure Park
LocationCarmona, Cavite, Philippines
Coordinates14°17′48″N 121°2′12″E / 14.29667°N 121.03667°E / 14.29667; 121.03667
Owned byManila Jockey Club
Date opened2003
Screened on
  • Cignal (Nationwide): Channel 107 (via SLBN Sportsnet); Channel 109 (Gametime TV, overflow feed)
  • Cablelink (Metro Manila): Channel 59
  • SkyCable (Metro Manila): Channel 113
Notable racesPresidential Gold Cup
MJCI Founders Cup
Official website

The leisure park occupies a land 77 hectares (770,000 m2) and houses around 1,000 thoroughbreds as of 2015. Pagcor operates a Casino within the area. It also houses a small venue inside the turf building, for cockfighting. The venue hosts a casino and is planned to be the site of the National Teams Training Centre to be used by both the national men's and women's football team. Within the grounds of the leisure park venues to accommodate baseball, football, and wakeboarding are being built. A concert venue is also planned.[1][2]

History

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Racetrack

The Manila Jockey Club used to be housed at the San Lázaro Hippodrome in 1912 in Manila. The racetrack was built on the 400-hectare (990-acre) former friar estate known during the Spanish colonial period as the Hacienda de Mayhaligue. It later came to be the known as the Hacienda de San Lázaro being home to the Hospital de San Lázaro for lepers administered by the Franciscans since 1785. The site itself was the location of the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara, which the Manila Jockey Club purchased during the early days of the American colonial period in 1900. Prior to the construction of the hippodrome at San Lázaro, the Club held its races at the Santa Mesa Hippodrome in Santa Mesa. The Club then transferred its racetrack to its present site in Cavite in 2003. The former site was converted into a mixed-used development under the name, San Lazaro Tourism and Business Park.[3][4][5]

In August 2022, Manila Jockey Club (1867-2022) shut down its 155-year-old horse racing operations of the Leisure Park with the last races under its banners in October, disclosing the "it would focus on real estate ventures while leasing existing properties."[6] Manila Jockey Club leases its horse racing facilities in Carmona, Cavite, to The Horsemen's Track of Hapi Jockey Club Inc. (HJCI)[7]

Recent developments

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Among the newest projects inside the SLLP is the construction of the new grand cockpit of MJC's subdiary, Manila Cockers Club (MCC), the 2,000-seater MCC Coliseum.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIFA Goal Project 3 breaks ground". ABS-CBN News. The Philippine Star. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  2. ^ Alzona, Rodel (10 September 2015). "A thousand horses". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Philippines". Asian Racing Federation. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Goodbye San Lazaro, hello Carmona". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  5. ^ "A Legacy of Public Health" (PDF). Department of Health. Retrieved 4 June 2015.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Dumlao-Abadilla, Doris (August 24, 2022). "Manila Jockey Club shutting down 155-year-old horse racing operations". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  7. ^ "Manila Jockey to lease out Cavite horse racing facility". September 13, 2022.
  8. ^ "MCC Coliseum Rising Soon At San Lazaro Leisure Park". Manila Cockers Club. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.