"There are reports of racing initiatives of various sizes and ambitions under way in Wuhan, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, even the racing lottery on Hainan island, and all of them being as careful as possible to get things rolling without upsetting anyone in Beijing. There are probably many others we haven't heard about, but they share one very obvious problem. Until China approves gambling on horse racing on the mainland, which is not on any radar yet, there is no commercial imperative to make these things happen the right way - and there must be doubts about the backers of some of these projects even being capable of that."

"And, if you are asking me for a personal opinion, the use of pacemakers in other jurisdictions is a blight on racing. Once you cross the line into allowing a horse to be ridden as a pacemaker for a better-fancied stablemate, you are allowing that horse to be run in a manner which may not be in its own best interests, and then I think you cross into very dangerous territory."

"John Ridley has overseen myriad aspects of racing in Hong Kong for the past 18 years, from maintaining the grass on the tracks to managing multimillion-dollar grandstand redevelopments. Now, the Jockey Club's racing operations director is the logistical mastermind behind what could be the biggest challenge in more than 125 years of racing in Hong Kong - extending the Jockey Club's operations to the mainland."

"The windfall for Hong Kong is threatened by a rise in unauthorized Internet betting sites, which avoid paying gambling taxes or royalties to the track, enabling them to offer more attractive odds, said Engelbrecht."

"Despite the course running fast, leaders staggered home in very slow sectionals but still held on as if by magic -- unless, like Spectacular Award, the run-on horses came up the rail. Horses which travelled up well and switched out rounding the home turn, disappeared into quicksand, never to be seen again."

"According to some in the betting world, illegal exchange betting on Hong Kong racing, through Singapore-financed sites and even some across the mainland border, has become significant. The internet platform allows a very wide reach and this phenomenon might be the first hint of the power of mainland race betting, if it is unleashed."

Article from 2000 about bettor Bill Benter, an early adopter of computer wagering. "If we do make money, the money has to come from somewhere. Well, yes, the general public loses a somewhat higher ratio." (See also: 2003 Wired piece on Hong Kong computer teams. "Working from mathematical models that are calculated to deliver a 24 percent return on investments, Hong Kong's most sophisticated computer-assisted bettors operate with long-term certainty of what their profits should be." http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.03/betting_pr.html)