Click on the links to find more details on the three elite races that make up the Macau Triple Crown:
The Macau Triple Crown is the youngest of all the Triple Crown series across the globe, only introduced by the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) in 2008. All three races take place at the Taipa Racecourse in Macau. In its inaugural year the Triple Crown was held for three-year-olds and consisted of the Director?s Cup, Macau Cup and the Macau Gold Cup, with the Macau Gold Cup being the only Group 1 race in the series.
The following year in 2009 the MJC changed the conditions and the races in the series and made it a Triple Crown for four-year-olds, the only of its kind throughout the world. Two of the races selected for this new Triple Crown are Group 1 events, adding to the prestige and excitement associated with the series. The races that now make up the Macau Triple Crown are detailed below.
The first leg of the Triple Crown is now the Group 2 Macau Guineas. This race run over 1500m in late March is worth HK$800 000.
The Group 1 Macau Derby is now the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Run over 1800m it is held in early May and offers the very lucrative purse of HK$2.6million.
The third and final race of the series is the Group 1 Macau Gold Cup. Raced over 1800m it takes place towards the end of May annually and is worth HK$1.2million.
The Macau Jockey Club awards a HK$1million bonus to the owner of any horse who is victorious in the three Triple Crown races in one season. There is also a consolidation bonus of HK$500 000 on offer for the owners of horses who win in two legs of the Triple Crown.
Although no horse has won the Macau Triple Crown, there have been a few horses to collect wins in two of the three races and provide their owners with the consolidation bonus including the New Zealand gelding Farson who won the Derby and the Gold Cup in 2008.