Racing set to resume in Hong Kong on Saturday despite continuing unrest

Racing in Hong Kong is set to return at Sha Tin on Saturday, despite the ongoing political unrest in the territory which resulted in a dramatic cancellation of Wednesday's fixture at Happy Valley.

Protests have raged in Hong Kong for much of this year but until Wednesday had not impacted racing at Happy Valley or Sha Tin.

However, according to local media reports the participation of a horse part-owned by the pro-China establishment lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu heightened concerns about possible dissent and the safety of crowds and participants on Wednesday's eight-race card, resulting in the late cancellation.

Racing is set to resume on Saturday, although the cancellation of further fixtures has not been entirely ruled out. Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said: "At this stage we have no indication there is any concern about not going ahead with Saturday’s race meeting.

"But if we encounter another significant risk when it comes to running a race meeting we will act in a similar way. Safety has to come first.

"We hope it's not the case, there were very specific reasons we came to this decision on Wednesday and hopefully we won’t be put in the same situation again. You don’t do it lightly."

Happy Valley's Wednesday meeting was cancelled due to safety concernsCredit: Vince Caligiuri

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Engelbrecht-Bresges said a risk assessment was under way for the planned National Day race meeting on October 1 given the possibility of protesters disrupting events to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

"We will have to take it closer to the day, but at this stage we are cautiously optimistic we will run the meeting and not have major disruptions," he said.

Ho announced a day after the cancellation that he and the co-owners of his horse, Hong Kong Bet, had decided to suspend the four-year-old from racing until the end of the territory's social unrest, a move welcomed by Engelbrecht-Bresges. "When you look at the situation, his horse running was a trigger point for certain activities," he said.

"The fact this horse won’t be running until this is over, we appreciate that he sees this as helpful and hopefully with this decision Hong Kong can enjoy racing again."

Ho has become a lightning rod for disaffected Hong Kong residents, with a campaign started in July to have his Jockey Club membership revoked and his horse withdrawn from all races.

Get ahead of the game with Get Your Eye In - exclusive Saturday preview content on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app from 2pm on Friday