Horse racing back on Wuhan courses

Horse racing is back on the Chinese mainland after almost 60 years.

The Testing Event of the China Speed Horse Race Open in Wuhan on Saturday was a step toward legalizing horse race betting, even though technically speaking nobody placed a bet on the horses.

Spectators were allowed to place free bets on two of the four races at the Orient Lucky City Racecourse, and those who won were given 20 instant scratch-off tickets by the local sports lottery administration.

Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, used to be the country's horse racing center in the early 1900s. But racing was banned in the country after the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Horse racing reappeared in the early 1990s, but not as gambling, after national races were organized and jockey clubs set up.

"This is China's first experiment with commercial horse racing," said Wang Shenshun, deputy head of the Wuhan sports administration. "First time organizers will offer prizes for every race, and individuals or groups can buy horses and share the prizes." Betting rates, however, have not been fixed.

Zhu Ping, who teaches at the Wuhan University of Technology, won 12 yuan from the scratch-off tickets.

"It's not important for me to earn money (this way) ... The event is important because it boosts the interest of spectators and encourages public participation," Zhu said.

The country's largest jumbotron, 480 sq m, was set up at the racecourse on November 15 so that spectators could also follow the races on a giant screen.

Wuhan started studying the possibility of resuming horse racing in 2005, and in January the central government approved that betting could be introduced in regular races on a trial basis.

Qin Zunwen, of the Hubei provincial academy of social sciences, said the horse racing industry could create 3 million jobs once a nationwide betting network was in place. The annual lottery sales could reach a whopping 100 billion yuan ($14.65 billion) and yield 40 billion yuan in tax revenue.

"A legal channel to bet on horse racing could eliminate illegal online gambling (from the country)," Qin said, and help curb underground and overseas gambling. Revenue collected from bets would be paid to winners and spent on public welfare projects and the racing industry.

Wang said: "The test run was a preparation for an official event… If approved, horse racing can be upgraded to regular events once or twice a week."