British entrepreneur revives Shanghai Race Club for China's aspiring classes
One Briton is reviving the Shanghai Race Club for the mainland's aspiring classes. But owning a steed is mostly virtual, writesCharley Lanyon
British entrepreneur Byron Constable is breaking all the rules to bring the sport of kings back to China.
While the mainland plays differently in many ways, it may still come as a surprise to learn that the venerable Shanghai Race Club (SRC), which he revived, operates without a clubhouse, without betting, without a racecourse and, believe it or not, without horses.
They've bought yachts, they have jets, and the next step is the racehorse. What else do you spend US$50 million on, then roll it down a grass slope?
It wasn't always this way. When the British established the SRC in 1862, the club operated several racetracks and its opulent clubhouse was considered the most expensive in the world.
The cream of Anglo-Chinese society became members and horse owners included many names familiar to anyone with passing knowledge of Hong Kong history: Jardine, Keswick, Kadoorie, Sassoon and Chater.
In the 1920s and '30s the SRC was already synonymous with high society in Shanghai. All that came to an end when Japanese troops invaded in 1937 and took over the clubhouse for its base of operations.
After the Chinese Communist Party seized power, horse racing became illegal and the SRC was shut down. It lay dormant for 70 years until Constable stepped in, in 2008, after the sport had gradually been reintroduced in the '90s.
Since then, he has launched a new model of virtual racing that might influence clubs globally.