Ireland racehorse trade is ready for the off
Print Edition
IRELAND is aiming to establish a trade selling thoroughbred racehorses to China, for a sport insiders say could be worth billions of dollars and create tens of thousands of jobs.
As well as top horses, Ireland would also export husbandry skills, training and veterinary expertise to China, Declan Kelleher, Ireland’s ambassador to China, told a press conference in Shanghai yesterday.
Kelleher predicted that collaboration on the thoroughbred industry will become the most important bilateral relationship between Ireland and China in the near future.
He highlighted next month’s first international flat racing festival in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as a landmark event.
Most of the horses will be provided by Ireland’s Coolmore Stud — the world’s biggest thoroughbred breeding operation.
Gambling is illegal on China’s mainland and the organizers said the festival will be a celebration of “pure racing.”
“The Ireland side is negotiating with the Chinese government about the export of horses and we recently made important progress,” Kelleher said, referring to the Hohhot festival.
It will include top riders from France, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and Singapore.
Ahead of the festival, an auction of 39 top thoroughbreds from Ireland, Australia and France is being held in Hohhot on September 9, during an equestrian event. The auction is only open to Chinese investors.
The horses are now in Hohhot undergoing quarantine inspections, said Ma Wei, deputy director of the Hohhot Sports Bureau.
It will be the first time top thoroughbreds are auctioned in China and only available to Chinese buyers, said Eden Harrington, general manager of the China Horse Club, a major organizer for the auction.
Later that month, the international flat racing festival will feature some of the auctioned horses.
A winning prize of 5 million yuan (US$817,033) is on offer.
“We expect the auction and race will help develop the whole industry chain in China that has great potential for luxury sports,” Harrington said.
He predicted the industry will bring billions of dollars in turnovers in China with tens of thousands of new jobs.
Hohhot was chosen for the auction and festival because it has a strong horse culture.
“Organizers are expecting nearly 10,000 visitors,” said the president of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities, Louis Romanet.
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