FAQ

CTC is scheduled to open for the training of Hong Kong horses from August 2018.
Only Owners and their registered visitors can visit their horses and observe morning trackwork. Video of daily trackwork and barrier trials will be published on the Club's website at the same time as Sha Tin trackwork and trials.

A lounge will be available for Owners and their guests. Soft drinks and light refreshments will be provided along with business facilities, televisions and restrooms with showers.

The Conghua area has a variety of hotels catering to all tastes, including several with hot springs. CTC is located about one hour from Guangzhou for those wishing to stay in the city.
CTC will train Hong Kong-owned horses and will function like many other major training facilities around the world. Training will take place 364 days a year (compared to about 350 days annually in Hong Kong) starting at 6:00 a.m. Horses will be able to train on the turf four days per week, something only permitted twice per week at Sha Tin. The uphill gallop and spelling paddocks will provide trainers with more training options than currently available at Sha Tin.
Trainers will determine which of their horses are based at CTC.
No. The monthly livery charge remains the same regardless of where a horse is based.

Dual-site trainers for the first phase of CTC are:

  • Tony Cruz
  • Caspar Fownes
  • John Moore
  • Paul O’Sullivan
  • Danny Shum
  • John Size
  • Chris So
  • Me Tsui
  • Dennis Yip

Operations at CTC will gradually increase, with more trainers to be designated as dual-site operators in subsequent phases.

More: First-phase dual-site trainers named for Conghua Training Centre

The Club has redesigned its horse floats to enable cross-boundary travel. Horses declared to race must be in Hong Kong at least 48 hours prior to racing. Convoys will depart Sha Tin and CTC twice weekly. Based on trials conducted by the Club, travel time between the two sites is between four and five hours. CTC-dedicated lorries, drivers and trained travelling grooms will be involved in transporting horses.

Ground transport of thoroughbred horses over distances such as those between Sha Tin and Conghua is a common practice around the world. Indeed horses often travel much further. Horses based at Newmarket in the United Kingdom are frequently transported more than five hours on the morning of racing and returned to Newmarket on the same day. Horses in South Africa are transported between major racing centres in journeys which can last more than 16 hours. All horses racing in Hong Kong have been imported from overseas, and approximately one-third came to Hong Kong with previous racing experience, and therefore have prior experience of undertaking journeys of this length by horse float.

No. Only horses owned by Hong Kong Jockey Club Members will be permitted at CTC. The entire site is a biosecurity zone, meant to replicate the same conditions found in the horse population in Hong Kong. This is of paramount importance in order to maintain the health of Hong Kong's active thoroughbred population. As there are no quarantine facilities at CTC, only horses permanently imported to Hong Kong are permitted.
The upload schedule for the broadcast of trackwork and barrier trials at CTC will be the same as for similar events at Sha Tin.
Staff working at CTC will be a combination of experienced Hong Kong staff seconded to CTC and newly recruited local staff. Recruitment campaigns in the Chinese Mainland for veterinarians, work riders and stable staff commenced as early as 2015. Training includes a variety of practicums to ensure the same standard of care as at Sha Tin.
A fully-staffed equine clinic, equipped with even more functions than at Sha Tin, will be operational when CTC opens in August 2018. The same range of drugs and consumables will be available as at Sha Tin and the Club's Veterinary Management Information System will ensure the swift sharing of information between the two clinics. The CTC equine clinic will only serve horses owned by Members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Horses from outside are not permitted due to biosecurity concerns.
An Equine Disease Free Zone (EDFZ) exists at CTC and in the surrounding area. Aside from CTC horses, no horses are permitted within a 5km radius of the site, or within 1km on either side of any road used to transport horses from Sha Tin to CTC and vice versa. CTC is treated as a quarantine site for horses. The stables are located in a fenced, access-controlled compound with a separate isolation stable should it be needed. CTC is surrounded by an electrified biosecurity fence while stable precinct fencing limits horse movements beyond their stables.

All visitors to CTC within the stabling compound, including Owners, trainers, staff and media, are required to follow strict biosecurity protocols.

The CTC perimeter is secured against human and wild animal entry by an electrified biosecurity fence. All vehicle entry/exit points will be via a double gate system which prevents the follow-on of any stray animals.

Stable compound entry/exit points for humans will be equipped with hand disinfectant dispensers and disinfection mats designed to minimise the risk of dirt and contaminants being introduced on footware. While vehicle traffic to the stable compound itself will be quite limited, all vehicles entering the stable compound must proceed via a wheel wash and an external disinfectant spray wash. Owners' vehicles will be required to park in a dedicated car park outside the stable compound. Internal transport via golf carts will be provided.

All Owners and their approved visitors must make a written declaration upon arrival at the Owners' Lounge confirming that they have not visited any other Chinese Mainland horse facilities within 24 hours of a visit to CTC. No horse gear, feed or other equipment of any kind may be brought into CTC from a Chinese Mainland horse facility.

A variety of approvals and coordinated support involving more than 20 government departments in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong have been required for the development of CTC, which includes the establishment of a unique, internationally-recognised Equine Disease Free Zone (EDFZ) between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, and the development of cross-boundary horse movement protocols. The supporting departments include:
  • Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department
  • Security Bureau
  • Customs and Excise Department
  • Immigration Department
  • Food and Health Bureau
  • Police Force
  • Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China
  • General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
  • Port Office of Guangdong Provincial People's Government
  • Guangdong Agriculture Department
  • Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau
  • Guangdong Public Security Department Traffic Management Bureau
  • Guangzhou Port Office
  • Guangzhou Customs
  • Guangzhou Agriculture Bureau
  • Guangzhou Animal Health Inspection
  • Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau – Conghua Training Centre Office
  • Guangzhou Sports Bureau
  • Conghua Customs
  • Shenzhen Port Office
  • Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau
  • Huanggang Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau
  • Shenzhen Customs
  • Shenzhen General Station of Immigration Inspection
  • Huanggang General Station of Immigration Inspection
Only a portion of Hong Kong's horse population will be stabled at CTC. The majority of horses will continue to reside in, and be trained from, Sha Tin's existing stable complexes. The individual traits and needs of each horse, as identified by a horse's trainer, will likely determine its base of preparation.