Hong Kong’s horses will be allowed to be exercised on treadmills by the start of the 2025-26 season and Australian trainer David Hayes is among many horsemen who believe it will be a game changer.
“It’s a brilliant move and I have been asking for five years,” said Hayes. “They are wonderful for horses that over-work with riders on their back, they are wonderful for unsound horses because they are a real bonus and that is why every major trainer in Australia uses them.”
Hayes returned to Hong Kong in 2019 after training in Australia since 2005 and it was during that time that the use of treadmills became a regular part of training programs for horses, particularly as a shortage of trackwork riders in particular put a strain on stable operations.
Hong Kong’s trainers will have access to eight treadmills at Sha Tin, six at the north-eastern end closest to the older stable complexes and two for the four trainers based at the Olympic Stables.
The treadmills were produced by Australian company GG Engineering and three Hong Kong Jockey Club staff made a recent trip to Australia to see the machines in action so that they can provide further training for staff at Sha Tin.
The Jockey Club stable staff visited top trainers Ciaron Maher and Chris Waller and a host of others in both New South Wales and Victoria.
Staff will be trained in the use of treadmills with retired racehorses once all trainers have access to the new training aids.
While some of the older trainers at Sha Tin may take a ‘wait and see’ approach to incorporating treadmills, there will be immediate uptake from Hayes and trainers that have arrived in recent years like Maher’s former co-trainer David Eustace and fellow Australian Mark Newnham.
“David Eustace is well versed in using treadmills and so am I,” Hayes said. “They will be a huge asset.”
Some of the resistance to treadmills in the past was that being able to work a horse away from the track reduced the high transparency approach to trackwork in Hong Kong, where horses gallop under lights with clearly identifiable saddleclothes and their track times recorded on a publicly available database.
How treadmill workouts will be recorded is yet to be finalised but it is likely to show under trackwork records as ‘trot’, ‘canter’ or ‘gallop.’
“How they will be used will be at the trainer’s discretion here,” Hayes said. “Some people use them for fast work, some for slow.”
Newnham said treadmills are perfect for older horses in Hong Kong.
“They are great for horses that need the weight off their backs,” he said. “You can maintain a horse’s fitness without some of the strain.”
Trainer Ricky Yiu said he was looking forward to maintaining the fitness of his horses away from Hong Kong’s stifling summer heat and humidity.
“It is also great for a horse that is feeling the strain of going around bends,” Yiu said. “Galloping in a straight line and on an incline takes some pressure off the horse’s front legs and joints.” ∎
