Hong Kong, Sep 18 (TIWN) Hong Kong's Jockey Club called off races on Wednesday, just hours before the event was to start because of fears that protesters could compromise the safety of its staff, customers and horses.

The Jockey Club said it had been “monitoring the situation” closely in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which has been rocked my more than three months of sometimes violent protests.  “It has conducted a thorough risk assessment of the race meeting tonight and concluded that it should be canceled in order to preserve the security and safety of people and horses,” the club said in a statement, without specifically mentioning the protests.