Hong Kong Jockey Club to invest HK$4 billion in China after signing landmark agreement
- Chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges confirms the club is aiming to hold four race meetings a season from 2025 while building a new grandstand at Conghua racecourse
- The partnership with the Guangzhou Municipal Government helps the long-term development of the sport in the mainland
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is set to invest around HK$4 billion to develop horse racing in the mainland after signing a landmark agreement with the Guangzhou Municipal Government as part of its long-term strategy to grow the sport, the Post can reveal.
The investment will include building a new grandstand at Conghua racecourse in Guangzhou that can accommodate up to 8,500 fans with racing to be held, initially, four times a season starting in March-April 2025. But betting is unlikely to be allowed as gambling remains illegal on the mainland.
The agreement signals the Jockey Club’s confidence to continue investing across the border, having already spent HK$3.7 billion building the training centre in Conghua which opened in 2018.
It further enlarges the club’s footprint in the mainland and comes after Beijing released a five-year blueprint titled the “National Equine Industry Development Plan (2020-2025)” in October, which seeks to promote horse racing in China.
