Racehorses beat humans by a nose in enjoying mobility across the Greater Bay Area on a single passport
- Hong Kong’s Jockey Club moves about 600 horses in and out of Hong Kong every year, turning the city’s airport into the world’s busiest for equine air travel
- The protocol for moving horses across Hong Kong’s border with southern China was established when the Jockey Club helped Guangzhou stage the equestrian event during the 2010 Asian Games
Racehorses have been moving freely across Hong Kong’s border with southern China, quietly becoming the first beneficiaries of the city’s closer connectivity with the Pearl River Delta even while humans are still struggling to cope with the mega bridge that spans the region.
For almost a decade since the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, a protocol had been in place for horses to arrive in China, and be transported through Hong Kong, on a single passport.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which established the protocol while helping Guangzhou stage the equestrian event at the 2010 games, brings about 600 horses in and out of Hong Kong every year, making the city’s airport the world’s busiest for equine air travel.
“We are faster than what happens for people,” said the HKJC’s chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “We exported the health status of Hong Kong into mainland China. So horses cleared internationally come to Hong Kong airport, go to the disease free zone, then fly out again to anywhere internationally. It was a significant exercise.”
Transporting horses internationally involves special air cargo. Like humans, they can fly economy, business or first class. Horses travelling between countries need to be quarantined to prevent diseases from spreading through populations.
