Races on in China, but bets are off

CHINA has lifted a 60-year ban on horse racing, allowing weekly races to be conducted in the central city of Wuhan. However, in compliance with the country's strict rules on gambling, no betting will be permitted.

The Communist authorities banned racing after seizing power in the 1949 Chinese Revolution as part of a broad and devastating cultural sweep that clamped down on anything that smacked of luxury and decadence.

Apart from the state lottery, nearly all forms of betting remain out of bounds for the Chinese, a people who were traditionally big gamblers.

Both the former British colony of Hong Kong, and Macau, a former Portuguese territory, already boast a thriving racing industry and the latter also hosts dozens of casinos, which are immensely popular with mainland China holidaymakers.

Racing in Wuhan, the first city to host a commercial race in 2008, will now take place from late August, according to a report in the China Daily, and broadcast live.

Ten to 12 horses will be entered in four to six races and more than 200 owners have already decided to participate.

"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," Liu Hongqing, spokesperson of Wuhan's Orient Lucky City race course told the newspaper.

The races will be organised by the Hubei provincial government and run by Hong Kong-based Orient Lucky Horse Industry. The country's General Administration of Sports has approved the weekly races.