Originally serving Western expatriates and Thai aristocrats, the club was at the centre of development in the introduction of modern sport to the country during the early 20th century.

The RBSC's history dates to 1890, when English expatriate Franklin Hurst made a request to Prince Devawongse Varoprakar, the Foreign Minister, for permission to establish a club, with a racecourse and sports field, in Bangkok.

[1] In 1901, a group of expatriates and high-ranking Thais, led by Russian Consul-General Alexander Olarovsky, submitted a request to establish a new club, "for the purpose of improving the standard of horse breeding and various other field sports."

Other sports were gradually introduced, including cricket in 1905, golf (the second oldest course in Thailand[4]) in 1906, rugby in 1907 and squash in 1909.

[2][6] In 1916, as a result of a dispute over funding being diverted to other sports at the expense of horse racing prize money, a group of Thai members split off from the RBSC to form the Royal Turf Club of Thailand.

[7] The RBSC continued to be chaired by Western expatriates until 1941, when the Japanese Army occupied the club in the course of World War II and Prince Rajadabhisek Sonakul became the first Thai chairman.

[8] The RBSC occupies 227 rai (36.3 ha; 90 acres) of land on Henri Dunant Road, opposite Chulalongkorn University.

It is surrounded on other sides by the Royal Thai Police Headquarters, Ratchadamri Road and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital/Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Medicine.

[9] RBSC members have access to facilities for badminton, basketball, billiards, bridge, chess, cricket, field hockey, football (soccer), golf (an 18-hole course and a driving range), jogging, lawn bowls, martial arts, physical fitness, qi gong, rugby, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis and yoga.