Positive Start for Conghua Racecourse

[Wandering Eyes]

The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s new racecourse in Conghua, China offers trainers a plethora of facilities above and beyond what is available at the Club’s two Hong Kong racecourses: four racetracks together with a 1100-metre uphill gallop; 20 spelling paddocks; a world-class veterinary hospital equipped with an X-ray unit, an exam room and operating suites, and a rehabilitation unit that includes salt-water spas and an aqua treadmill to treat injured horses.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has invested HK$3.7-billion (almost US$500-million) into Conghua Racecourse, which is situated in the Guangdong Province in Southern China about 200 kilometres from Hong Kong–three hours’ ride by car. Spread across 150 hectares, Conghua racecourse can house more than 660 horses in its stables. The racecourse was built with the vision to take Hong Kong racing to the next level and to create a more spacious and relaxed training environment. Land is sacred in Hong Kong, and the Club spent almost 20 years searching for suitable land to build such a training ground without much success.

Conghua Racecourse was officially opened on Aug. 28, 2018 and nine trainers in Hong Kong, including former champions Tony Cruz and Dennis Yip, are now training horses out of both Conghua and Hong Kong. Horses are shipped to Sha Tin at least two days before running.

The movement of horses across the border between Hong Kong and Mainland China means that maintaining strict biosecurity is a top priority. The Club and the government veterinary services of Hong Kong and China have established strict regulations and procedures to prevent outbreak of infectious diseases, and specific measures have been established for visitors. All visitors–including owners, trainers, jockeys and training staff–must go through the biosecurity entry point, wear a protective overcoat and have their hands and shoes disinfected to minimize the risk of contamination. The Club also maintains a strict no same-day entry policy where all the visitors must sign a declaration form stating that they have not visited any other equine facilities in Mainland China for 24 hours prior to visiting Conghua.

“Conghua Racecourse is the largest strategic investment since the racetrack in Sha Tin was opened 40 years ago, when at that time only the Happy Valley Racecourse was available. The decision to expand to Sha Tin was similar to our decision to go to Conghua today,” says Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “Without the Sha Tin racecourse, we would only contain ourselves to Happy Valley. Conghua is necessary for the long-term growth of Hong Kong racing.

“Conghua Racecourse also creates a perfect environment for injured and nervous horses to rest and take a break. For example, they can rehabilitate in the spa, and that will help them re-integrate before going back to racing in Hong Kong.”

Although it has officially been in operation less than six months, the Club’s investment in Conghua is already seeing positive results in Hong Kong racing. As of today, 25 winners for the season have been trained in Conghua. These included the John Size-trained Special Stars and Country Star in last week’s International Jockeys Championship, as well as the Danny Shum-trained Regency Legend on the day of the Longines Hong Kong International Races.

“In the early stages there were a little bit of reluctance among owners and trainers about training horses between Conghua, because of the distance between Conghua and Sha Tin,” says Bill Nader, director of racing business and operations of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “And the early results have been so encouraging that people now not only accept Conghua as a world-class training centre, but they also embrace it.”

The Hong Kong Jockey Club will next invest approximately HK$1.5-billion into the Sha Tin stables to bring the facilities up to the same standard as Conghua, Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

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