Beijing / Hong Kong - For those of you who like to play the ponies, you can smile today as thoroughbred racing is coming soon to the Chinese mainland.

But for gamblers, don't get too excited just yet as betting is not a part of it.

"People can win small prizes if they correctly guess which horse will win the race, but they can't bet on horses like people do during Hong Kong horse racing," said Liu Hongqing, spokesperson of Wuhan's Orient Lucky City horse-racing course.

The General Administration of Sports has approved weekly horse races in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province.

All races will be televised live in China and possibly broadcast live via the Internet in the future.

Liu said that four to six races will be held every Saturday, with 10 to 12 horses running in each. On major festival occasions, extra racing days will be designated.

The races are organized by the Hubei provincial government and run by Orient Lucky Horse Industry (Wuhan) Co Ltd, which is based in Hong Kong.

"We are still at the planning stage of the competition such as inviting horse owners nationwide to join the competition. The first race will take place after August," Liu said. So far more than 200 horse owners have decided to participate. The host will add more races over time and bring in more thoroughbreds.

Prize money will be awarded to the owner of the horse that wins each race but the amount and the source of the prize money is still under discussion.

"In Dubai, a horse owner can win up to $10 million for winning the race. Our award won't be that much at the moment but we will try to match that in the future."

China has been very careful with horse racing because of the illegal gambling involved. The Chinese government shut down a number of racecourses in 2000 in an anti-gambling campaign. The Chinese racing industry has argued that legalizing on-track betting could generate up to three million jobs, clean up illegal gambling and generate tax revenues.

"I decide to participate in the race because I believe the horse-racing industry is very promising in China and has great potential," said Xie Junming, a horse owner from Wuhan.

Jockeys can't wait to get into the saddle, either.

"People rarely see being a jockey as a profession in China and we don't have a lot of racing opportunities," said Liu Xue, a jockey from Orient Lucky City horseracing course. "I'm so excited about the open competition, which could help me progress a lot. Maybe one day I can participate in races worldwide."

Hubei has the advantage of hosting such races because it has the most racehorses in China while Wuhan, the horse-racing capital of China, already hosts the annual China Wuhan International Horse-racing Festival, according to Hu Dechun, director of the provincial sports administration.

On Chinese soil, only Hong Kong and Macao have mature horse-racing industries, complete with first-class facilities and a well-established legal and policy framework.

People in Hong Kong don't know much about commercial horse racing in Wuhan, or whether there are enough thoroughbreds to make the event a serious business, said former horse owner Darin Leung.

"Most of Hong Kong's horse owners may not feel motivated to try the turf up there in the early stages of the event," he said. "But those who have businesses on the mainland may want to have a try."

China Daily

(China Daily 06/11/2011 page1)