The Macau Jockey Club (MJC) has narrowly averted a strike by its jockeys and trainers over reductions in prize money, according to a report in the specialist publication Inside Asian Gaming (IAG).
Earlier this month, MJC announced that prize money would be cut by 30 percent from 18 November as a cost-saving measure, “due to the below expectation betting turnover over the years.”
Citing a letter reportedly written by MJC staff to the club’s management, IAG said jockeys and trainers had threatened to strike in protest, since prize money was an important source of supplementary income. They also said they intended to take their grievance to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and the Labour Affairs Bureau.
[See more: Hold your horses: What’s next for the Macau Jockey Club]
According to the publication, the MJC held a meeting with staff on 17 November and said it was backing down from the reduction in prize money.
However, in an effort to save costs the MJC may reduce the number of races to just three on each race day, an unnamed source told IAG, describing the move as a “worst case scenario.”
The future of horse racing in Macao has been called into question in recent months, with the MJC racking up total losses of 2.1 billion patacas. The club has also incurred official displeasure by failing to invest billions of dollars in renovations and additional facilities, required under a 2018 lease extension deal.
