William Henry Macleod Read and a group of racing enthusiasts founded the first race club in Singapore in 1842. The Old Race Course was at Farrer Park and it was renamed the Singapore Turf Club in 1924. In 1933, it moved to its new premises at the Bukit Timah Race Course. It was opened by Sir Cecil Clementi, the Governor of Singapore from 1887 to 1893, who also lent his name to the nearby Clementi Road. In 1999, the Turf Club moved to Kranji while the Bukit Timah site was then converted into Turf City, a complex of retail, automobile market, restaurants, furniture mall and sports complex.
During the Japanese Occupation, the Turf Club was converted into hospitals and military car parks. During its heyday, movie tycoon Tan Sri Dr Runme Shaw owned Shaw Stables with 70 horses. Mr Lim Nee Soon and his son Mr Lim Chong Pang, were also familiar faces at the Turf Club. For the first time, in 1960, the Bukit Timah Race Course broke with tradition and opened its doors to non-members who were allowed into the site for a fee of $5. The Bukit Timah Race Course also witnessed the presence of illustrious visitors like HM Queen Elizabeth II, HRH Prince Philip and HRH Princess Anne in their first visit to Singapore in 1972. Since then, the annual Queen Elizabeth II Cup race held at the Singapore Turf Club was renamed in the Queen's honour to commemorate her visit.