Who could take on a project of this magni-
tude, gather such an elite and diverse group
of horseracing industry leaders and even
attract English royalty to his event? The
mystery man is none other than China Horse
Club Chairman and Founder Teo Ah Khing,
of course.
It only takes about 10 minutes spent with
Teo to see how he could accomplish such a
feat. The Harvard-educated architect is as
dynamic and captivating as he is intelligent,
a combination of traits which have clearly
aided him in his success. When he speaks
on a subject about which he is passionate,
like horseracing, even those not interested
in the topic can't help but listen intently to
what he has to say.
In addition to having the brains and per-
sonality it takes to succeed at such a high
level, Teo also has the resume to back it up.
Born in East Malaysia, the 55-year-old start-
ed Teo Ah Khing Design Consultants (TAK),
an architectural firm which is responsible
for designing and building the magnificent
Meydan Racecourse grandstand for the
2010 G1 Dubai World Cup, a project which
was completed in a record 924 days. It was
this project that introduced Teo to the sport
of kings.
"Designing a grandstand without any
knowledge of horses allowed us to go and
study racing and all its rules and regula-
tions around the world," Teo explained. "We
learned and I personally fell in love with
horses. That's how I started my history with
horse racing."
"Sheikh Mohammed initially wanted to
bring the sport into China, so we went into
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