Ho said in a telephone conversation with the head of stables, the staffer “had neither asked us to withdraw Hong Kong Bet from the race tonight nor given any hints that the night meeting might be cancelled in the event of Hong Kong Bet’s insistence to run” in the race.

The controversial politician became a hate figure among the protesters after he publicly defended the white-clad men who indiscriminately attacked demonstrators and commuters in Yuen Long station on July 21. Ho was filmed shaking hands with the men and thanking them, though it was unclear what for.

Controversial figure Junius Ho drags Jockey Club into political mess

The unprecedented cancellation was symbolic as many referenced it to the words of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. In the lead-up to the city’s handover from Britain to China in 1997, he reassured nervous Hongkongers, saying: “The horses will still run, stocks will still sizzle and dancers will still dance.”

The Jockey Club had earlier cited attempts to remain neutral when rejecting a campaign to revoke Ho’s membership and withdraw Hong Kong Bet from all future races.

Anticipating a potential issue, the Jockey Club initially moved the race involving Hong Kong Bet to the start of the meeting to minimise any danger. Such Class Two races would normally be the penultimate or final race of the night.

The Jockey Club announced the official cancellation of the meeting at 1.13pm on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Post report that was published online at 12.54pm.

The race meeting was expected to start at 7.15pm.

While race meetings in Hong Kong had been abandoned before because of typhoons and equine influenza, this was the first time political and civil unrest had forced a cancellation.

It also cast doubt over whether the meeting on October 1 – the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China – would go ahead, given the likely sentiment.

There were 16,149 fans at the course last week – as well as more than 1,000 staff – and ultimately, the Jockey Club decided it could not take any risks.

“Our concerns are tied to potential social unrest in the vicinity tonight, the very real threat of a disturbance or possible violence at Happy Valley racecourse, and uncertainty regarding transport in and around Happy Valley and Causeway Bay for racegoers, jockeys and employees and horses entering or leaving the racecourse throughout the evening,” a Jockey Club spokesman said.

Hong Kong Jockey Club not immune from political tensions, will remain ‘vigilant’

“This is a very difficult and most unfortunate decision to make, but public safety is of paramount importance to the club. We hope the racing community and the Hong Kong public will understand our reasons for doing so.”

Speaking to a local TV station, Ho said the decision to cancel the meeting was regrettable because it was made without verifying whether the protesters’ threat was real and that the Jockey Club should have confidence in the city’s rule of law.

“They say they will ‘boo’ [the horse], and therefore we stop doing what we do. I think this should not be the way things are done. We should not bow to evil forces,” Ho said.

Hong Kong racing heavyweights left in shock as civil unrest halts city’s most beloved sport

Racing personnel were caught off guard with veteran trainer John Moore capturing the mood, saying: “I didn’t see this coming because racing is such an important contributor to charities and society.”

The cancellation could also have significant financial repercussions.

The meeting could be rescheduled for later in the season with government approval, but as it stood the Jockey Club – the biggest taxpayer in Hong Kong – was missing out on around HK$1.1 billion in betting turnover from the meeting.

There was HK$1.132 billion gambled during last week’s meeting with HK$115 million going to the government in betting duties and HK$52 million retained by the Jockey Club for its operating expenses and charitable contributions.

At a Causeway Bay betting shop on Wednesday, many did not realise the meeting had been cancelled until they went to the counter.

A man who gave his name as Chung, 60, said he was not too disappointed, though the cancellation meant there would be less entertainment for him tonight.

“The Jockey Club could have just pulled [scratched] Ho’s horse,” he said.

Another race fan, who identified himself as Ah Wai, 37, said he was a bit angry.

While he refrained from passing political judgment on the protesters or Ho, he said: “It is a bit unexpected that [the protest] has spread to horse racing.”

The Jockey Club said all placed bets would be refunded.

Additional reporting Chris Lau