A commercial horse race meeting, approved by the government, will be held in Wuhan on Saturday, the first on the mainland since the formation of the People's Republic, the Changjiang Daily reported yesterday.

The meeting will feature seven races and offer prizes totaling 120,000 yuan ($17,500), the Wuhan-based paper said. From now on, two meetings, featuring five to seven races, will be held every week, the event's organizers were quoted as saying.

Individuals and organizations can apply to join a racing¹ club and buy shares in the horses, the report said, without elaborating. Wang Shenshun, deputy director of the Wuhan sports bureau, was quoted as saying that the meeting is "an experiment in the commercialization of horse racing in China".

However, authorities in Wuhan refused to confirm if the event is a prelude² to the launch of a horse racing lottery³. Saturday's meeting will coincide with the end of a five-day tournament showcasing horse racing as a sport, and also the Sixth China Wuhan International Horse Race Festival. More than 500 horses will take part in the three events, organizers said.

Prior to 1949, and the formation of the People's Republic of China, Wuhan was home to a thriving horse race lottery business, established by the British in the 19th century. It has long been keen to revive its position as China's "horse racing city". In September, work began in the city on a 333-hectare horse training base. On completion it will have capacity for 2,000 horses and be the largest facility of its kind in the country.

Also in September, Wuhan Commercial College launched China's first ever horse racing graduate program. As well as taking classes in the theory of the sport, the three-year program requires students to learn how to ride a horse and organize a race meeting. For those with a less academic interest in horse racing, Saturday's meeting is being seen as a possible investment opportunity.

"It's a new thing for people," Deng Shentao, a 40-year-old lawyer from Wuhan, said.

"I'm interested in buying a horse and getting involved in the races. It has to be more fun than investing in property or stocks."