The Singapore Turf Club on Wednesday moved to clarify the status of Lee Freedman's license to train in that country, saying the license has not been completed, while the trainer reportedly announced in a letter to his current owners in Australia that he would in fact be moving to Singapore.
The Malayan Racing Association, which regulates racing in Malaysia and Singapore, revealed in a press release on Tuesday that Freedman's application had been officially registered. The Singapore Turf Club noted in its release on Wednesday that after receiving a trainer's license from the MRA, the trainer must apply for, and be granted, stabling to one of the four MRA tracks-three in Malaysia and the STC. Around the time that Freedman applied for his MRA license on May 29, current Singapore trainer Laurie Laxon said, according to the STC release, “if he [Mr Freedman] gets his license, he'll just take over my stable and buy my company.” Laxon has since retracted that statement and said he was misquoted.
Freedman has applied for stabling with the STC, and the STC racing committee will meet on Thursday to consider Freedman's application for stabling facilities, in addition to other applicants.
Meanwhile, Racing.com reported on Thursday that Freedman and his brother and current training partner Anthony sent a letter to his current owners informing of his impending move to Singapore, which read in part, “As you are all aware Lee recently submitted an application to train in Singapore. Today, we can confirm that his application was successful and the Singapore Turf Club has granted him a licence where he will take up the opportunity to train. This is an exciting new venture for Lee and a timely passing of the baton as Anthony's son, Sam, returns to Australia. It will be business as usual at Freedman Racing.”
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