In addition to Covid-19, Wuhan is known as the venue for horse racing with a tradition of more than 150 years.

At first glance, the Wuhan Open Race resumed operations in October after the city removed the blockade, like horse racing in other parts of the world.

The tournament has purebred horses named "Warrior of Freedom", or "The Perfect", jockeying into a racing jersey of all colors, and the audience picks up the winner.

Instead, people will scan a QR code on their phone and choose the winner.

In addition, rewards can also be cooking oil, mobile phone recharge card or rice cooker or car.

"Here other than a foreign country, the funniest thing is to watch horse racing and soak up the atmosphere," said the 65-year-old man who lives near the racetrack.

Jin Lei, who came to watch with two friends, said that this was the first time he went to the horse racing and was very thrilled to "be around and feel the power of the horse".

"I came to see it because of a new feeling," said Lei, 27, who works as a medical consultant.

Admission costs 50 yuan ($ 8).

Wet and cold weather impacted the final days of the horse racing season in Wuhan.

Jacky Wu, chairman of the Oriental Lucky Horse Racing Group, the company that builds and operates the track, says there are normally 3,000 to 5,000 spectators.

In other countries, spectators can drink alcohol in the racetrack.

Wu said Wuhan has a long history of horse racing, because the British used to trade here.

"The first horse racing in Wuhan was in operation in 1864 and at one point four races were in operation," he said in his office overlooking the sandy track.

Although there are horse racing in other parts of China, especially in remote regions like Xinjiang or Inner Mongolia, Wuhan is the "center of western standard horse racing" of the country, Wu said.

However, like every other sport in the world, Covid-19 made a strong attack on the horse riding in Wuhan, causing the season to stop for four months.

The city was blockaded from January 23 to early April and the race was only re-licensed in October. Xiang Yan, a jockey, feels extremely relieved to be back in the saddle after 76 days of blockade.

"Riding a horse is my daily routine and I remember not being able to ride for a long time," said the 24-year-old jockey.

After a harsh year, Wu expressed optimism about the future of horse racing in Wuhan.

"This year has been a difficult year for us to organize horse racing in Wuhan. The pandemic is not over yet," Wu said.

Thanks to the success of the Chinese government, limiting Covid-19 spread at a low level, many bigger and better plans for the horse racing industry in Wuhan in 2021 are kicking in.

"If all goes according to plan, we expect to increase the level of competition, the value of the rewards, the number of foreign poners and the quality of the horse," Wu said.

"We will continue to invest in the next few years and are very confident in the future of Chinese horse racing. Many other cities have stopped racing, but Wuhan does not."