The Accra Turf Club is calling on government and the Lands Commission to protect its property and bring perpetrators to book following the alleged vandalisation and flattening of its Borteyman Race Course on Saturday, August 24, 2026.
According to a statement signed by Board Secretary, Mr. Sam Newton Esq, the Race Course was originally located at the enclave now occupied by the National Conference Centre, National Security and the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.
The statement said the Government of Ghana approached the Turf Club to cede portions of that enclave for the construction of the National Conference Centre. An MoU and a Relocation Agreement were subsequently signed, under which government agreed to ensure that Cascade Development Company Ltd would build a similar facility at Borteyman as a replacement.
Following the agreement, the old Race Course was demolished and relocated to Borteyman.
However, the contractor, Cascade Development Company Ltd, only constructed three facilities:
i. The Racing Tracks
ii. A Paddock
iii. 100 Stables – which wasn’t fit for purpose
The Club says it has since been using the incomplete facility while engaging government to compel the contractor to complete the remaining ancillary facilities, including spectators’ stands with VIP sections, press room, conference room, offices, paramedic room, jockeys’ dressing rooms, ticketing cubicles, and betting cabins, among others.
For the records, the Club noted that on 8th October 2010, the Ministry of Tourism, Gold Coast Resorts International Limited and Cascade Development Company Ltd entered into an agreement to redevelop the old Accra Race Course to include a five-star hotel, shopping mall, offices and residential buildings, which received parliamentary approval.
When the Race Course was moved, the Turf Club said the Lands Commission itself went to court to pray for an order to carve out 46.64 hectares of land for the Race Course. The order was granted by the current Chief Justice who was then a High Court Judge.
“From that time till now the Lands Commission has relented to perfect our documents for us and allowed various Real Estate Companies to encroach on most portions of our land with permits being granted by the same Lands Commission,” the statement alleged.
The Club said what happened on Saturday, August 24, was therefore a shocker.
“So, the act that was occasioned on Saturday, 24th August 2026, by one Dzato and Azuma who were being led by DSP Malaika, was a shocker. They vandalised all properties of the Accra Turf Club including 100 stables, offices, track railings etc – anything they could lay hands on. They flattened the entire land and sold the debris to scrap dealers on the site,” the statement said.
A letter signed by the Board Secretary, Mr. Newton Esq, is therefore making three demands:
i. That its property at Borteyman be given back to them
ii. That the Lands Commission immediately perfects its documents and grants them title to the 46.64 hectares
iii. That authorities bring the alleged perpetrators to book
