There must be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for the Macau Jockey Club's 'discussions' with its Hong Kong counterpart.
That is the only conclusion to be drawn from the news last week that top-grade Australian trainer Russell Cameron is leaving a very worthwhile business in his home country to base himself at Taipa from April this year.
Cameron, one of a small group of excellent trainers who pioneered the concept of forming a larger co-operative training operation under the registered company name of Aquanita Racing, had shown plenty of interest in Macau prior to last year's legal changes.
The amendments to Hong Kong's Betting Ordinance in May last year, purported to combat illegal and offshore bookmaking, never appeared to have a greater purpose than to undermine Macau racing and to date that seems to be the extent of their achievements.
When betting turnover there basically halved as a result of Macau being unable to service customers in Hong Kong, Cameron, and probably any other interested foreign trainer, must have feared the coming of stake money cuts as a reasonable assumption and cooled his heels.
Now he has done a further about face and signed up, the only logical line of thought is that he has been given some reason to think things in Macau may be set to return to the way they had been - a steady annual growth instead of hand-to-mouth survival.
Though there is never any release for public consumption of the times, dates or proceedings of these alleged discussions between the Macau club and the HKJC, we are led to believe they are ongoing.