Hong Kong ready for equine milestone

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Few spectacles in Hong Kong rival the excitement of race night, when tens of thousands of gambling-mad punters cheer wildly for horses gliding around a track ringed by rolling hills and skyscrapers.

Hong Kong's racing scene, already one of the world's finest, is poised to get even richer next week when it hosts Olympic equestrian events.

Beijing's Olympic organisers and equestrian officials decided in 2005 it was not feasible to host equine events in mainland China given the failure to establish a disease-free zone for horses.

Hong Kong was the natural choice to move in.

Along with Japan, Hong Kong's equine infrastructure ranks as Asia's best, with stabling facilities for over 1,000 race horses and two world-class race courses, one of which seats 80,000.

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hong Kong and the club to be a part of the Olympics," said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The group has spent some $150 million (75 million pounds) building one-off Olympic equestrian facilities, including an air-conditioned training arena and stables and an 18,000-seat equestrian arena.

STRICT TESTS

The club's world-class equine anti-doping laboratory will also impose stricter-than-ever tests on the horses participating in the Games.  Continued...