[Photo by Kuang Linhua/China Daily]

Like the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the CHC pitches itself as a premium lifestyle club with "all the bells and whistles", including overseas retreats in Switzerland and Australia.

An important breakthrough for the Club was its hosting of the China Equine Cultural Festival in September in 2013 in Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"We brought in the skill set: stewards from three different countries, 12 jockeys from six different countries, trainers, gate crews, officials. We pulled together a United Nations from other jurisdictions who were delighted to participate," Harrington says.

Critically, the CECF was the first race meeting in China to be endorsed by the all-important International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

Together with the governing body of racing in France, the CHC drew up a white paper that covered the rules of racing, from medical tests to horse registration. "All our members and riders have to abide by them. This is our way of disciplining them and policing them. Anytime we share with government authorities, we send them our white paper to reassure them," Harrington says.

The festival was held in Inner Mongolia, a place steeped in equine culture. Its grassy plains are also potential breeding grounds for thoroughbreds. For the last two years, the CHC has sponsored six students from the region to study at stud farms overseas.

The first year, they went to Coolmore Stud in Ireland; the second, to France to train under the world's leading female horse trainer, Christiane "Criquette" Head.

"These people don't normally take students. But we wanted them to experience and understand the full breeding cycle, from calving (mating) to delivery, so they could bring this knowledge back home. We're investing in the talent of China," Teo says.