World racing's promised land comes closer as Hong Kong Jockey Club launches meeting in China
City joins hands with authorities in mainland to help establish a thoroughbred racing and breeding industry there
There will be no gambling, no big-name jockeys, trainers or horses, but world racing's "El Dorado" has moved one step closer, with the Jockey Club to put its name on a race day in Chengdu under a new formal partnership with Chinese racing authorities to establish the sport on the mainland.
The meeting on November 7 - the Hong Kong Jockey Club Raceday - will be run by the Chinese Equestrian Association (CEA) and feature the final leg of the China Horse Racing Grand Prix series.
We will help on the technical, but also the business side, like sponsorship, marketing and how to generate viable income streams
The new CEA-HKJC partnership, announced in Beijing yesterday, will continue the involvement of the Jockey Club with mainland authorities in a long-term target of laying the foundations of proper thoroughbred racing and breeding in China.
The club has assisted the China Sports Lottery with software and risk management in the past; it spent HK$1.2 billion building and organising equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the club has also played a major role in the Longines China Tour and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games equestrian events, which were staged on the site now being developed as the Conghua training centre.
READ MORE: Hong Kong Jockey Club to stage first race meeting in mainland China with party's backing - but no bets allowed
Among those will be training of industry participants and officials, including offering internships in Hong Kong, the construction of integrity systems in both racing and breeding, including development of drug-testing protocols.
The Jockey Club will undertake at least some of the drug testing for the Chengdu meeting, to be conducted under a rule book generated with the assistance of the ARF and Hong Kong Jockey Club. The China Horse Racing Grand Prix has been taking place under several names, including the China Speed Series, but has settled on its current title.
Most of the participating horses in the final leg on November 7 have gained entry through the three prior legs held in Horquin, Inner Mongolia (around 600km north east of Beijing) on July 11, at Xilinhot, Inner Mongola (450km due north of Beijing) on August 8 and at Youyu, Shanxi province (300km west of Beijing) on September 5.
The remaining places are decided by results from races held in Zhaosu, Xinjiang, in June, some 2,900km west of Beijing in the far west of the country near the Kazakhstan border.
"And part of that will be co-operation with the CEA for the race meeting at Chengdu on November 7," he said.
"We will help on the technical, but also the business side, like sponsorship, marketing and how to generate viable income streams from the meeting when the traditional revenue stream of betting is not available."
No further details or sponsors for the Chengdu race day have yet been announced.
However, watch brand Longines, a ubiquitous sponsor of equine events of all types throughout the world, including the Hong Kong International Races, had a great deal of signage erected at the Jinma course for the Dubai-organised meeting in 2014.
