Horseracing in Hainan not likely soon says HK Jockey Club chief

The chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club says that horseracing on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan will not be a reality in the near term. Speaking to South China Morning Post, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said that such ventures can take up to seven years to become credible operations.

He said that it is a lengthy process to get a horseracing site operational, and it includes concept and feasibility studies, the development of a sustainable model, the training of horses and staff, and recruitment of jockeys.

“It’s easy to build but costly to operate,” Engelbrecht- Bresges told the SCMP. “Such a development will take a significant period of time.”

According to the SCMP, after Chinese President Xi Jinping stated his intention earlier this year to turn the island of Hainan into a free-trade port, speculation became rife among entrepreneurs who established companies with some variant of horseracing in their name.

Engelbrecht-Bresges said that the Central Government has not yet consulted the Hong Kong Jockey Club regarding the development of horseracing in Hainan, nor have any entities on the island, which is technically part of the mainland. The Jockey Club has previously supported mainland activities of this nature, including the equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“We have not had any discussion with Hainan or anybody that is thinking about investing. We are not a commercial organization so we are not looking at partnerships in Hainan to develop [horseracing] on a commercial basis,” he said.

The statements come as the Hong Kong Jockey Club inaugurates its HKD3.7 billion Conghua Racecourse near Guangzhou. The horse racing company says its focus for the near-term is supporting the Central Government’s Greater Bay Area project to link the two special administrative regions to nine other cities in the vicinity of the Pearl River estuary.