Guangzhou is set to stage its first horse racing event in 27 years, with Guangzhou Daily and Nanfang Daily reporting that races will kick off at the Conghua racecourse from 31 October.
Organised by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the horse races will align with international standards and be the first world-class thoroughbred horse races to be held in mainland China.
The Conghua racecourse covers around 150 hectares or the equivalent of 20 standard-sized football fields. Originally built for equestrian events during the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, it is currently the largest and best equestrian venue in mainland China, and is capable of accommodating around 650 horses.
The racecourse has since become an important facility for Hong Kong horse trainers and is the only one in the nation to be internationally recognised as an Equine Disease Free Zone, becoming the 53rd location in the world to earn the title.
Currently, phase two of the construction work on the track has been completed, with 4 billion yuan (US$584.67 million) going towards this segment of the project. Meanwhile, work on the racecourse’s grandstand, which has a capacity of 9,500 people, has also wrapped up.
“We have built one of the most iconic racecourses in Conghua, Guangzhou, with a globally renowned architect, integrating Chinese cultural elements into its design,” the chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, was cited as saying during a Year of the Horse campaign launch last month.
[See more: Five things you may not know about the history of the Macau Jockey Club]
According to Jiemian News, Guangzhou had been home to a lively horseracing sector in the 1990s, with the provincial capital hosting its first race in January 1993. The total bets for the inaugural race reached 600,000 yuan (US$87,901).
During the heyday of the industry, three races were scheduled in the city each week, with bets hitting a peak of more than 12 million yuan (US$1.75 million). In total, 757 races were held in Guangzhou between 1993 and 1999; however, the races came to an end in 1999 due to concerns over matters such as gambling and illegal bets. The Guangzhou Race Track, which was founded in 1992, was gradually changed into an area for restaurants and the sale of furniture and cars.
The new Conghua races are reportedly going to be different from those of yesteryears by being strictly exhibition events, with no gambling or betting, according to an unnamed individual close to the government, who spoke to Jiemian News.
“I’ll be fascinated to see how it goes,” David Hayes, the horse trainer of Hong Kong champion horse Ka Ying Rising, told South China Morning Post. “It will be interesting racing without betting – that’s something horse owners are going to have to get used to.”
Sun Yat-Sen University economics professor, Lin Jiang, said that Guangzhou horseraces needed to put its focus on generating income not via betting, but through integration with industries relating to sports, culture and tourism.
According to Lin, Conghua racecourse “can position itself as a national-level demonstration area for equestrian sports and the equine industry, an equestrian sports centre in the Greater Bay Area, a cultural tourism destination for horseracing in southern China, and a top-tier horse breeding and training base.”
Lin added that without gambling, the racecourse could still rely on the income stemming from admission fees during race days, equestrian exhibition competitions and international invitational competitions. Other income sources could include naming rights from high-end brands, private suite rentals and corporate events.
