Hong Kong horse racing gallops on through depths of pandemic

HONG KONG: For more than two years, people in Hong Kong have lived under some of the toughest coronavirus restrictions in the world. But one beloved tradition has persisted: Horse racing.

Throughout the pandemic the Chinese city has gone to great lengths to protect the sport from shutdowns, even as schools closed and infections tore through elderly care homes.

But some at the heart of the racing scene have baulked at the personal costs of complying with restrictions, with at least two overseas jockeys leaving and others fearing for their mental health.

Since 2020, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has a monopoly on the industry in the city, has mostly conducted races behind closed doors and isolated riders from the local community.

Australian jockey Blake Shinn said last week that the "mental stress" meant he would not return for next season.

"I understand that the club's priority has been to keep racing going during a difficult time ... but at a certain point it becomes a mental health issue," Shinn was quoted saying in the South China Morning Post.

Jockeys and trainers have been required to stay home during off-hours and avoid mixing with people outside their household. Shinn compared it to being in jail.

Another Australian jockey, Daniel Moor, returned home in March saying Hong Kong's pandemic rules - which include largely sealing off the borders to the outside world - had separated him from his family.

Four-time champion jockey Zac Purton told AFP that the restrictions were a "fair trade-off" but acknowledged the personal toll it took on riders.

"It is deterring jockeys from overseas from wanting to come to Hong Kong at the moment," he said.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once promised that Hong Kong would retain its way