HONG KONG, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) said Wednesday that it has started dual-site operations in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland as its new horse training center in Guangdong Province was put into use.

After a series of horse movement trial runs over a two-year period, Conghua Training Center (CTC) became operational when the first horses to be stabled at CTC arrived on Tuesday, HKJC said in a press release.

The training center will officially open on Aug. 28.

The first 14 horses to the new training center are retired Hong Kong thoroughbreds. They will assist in the training of new staff at CTC, paving the way for HKJC racehorses currently in training to make the move to CTC next month.

"The center will offer new options to our owners and trainers and will enable us to expand Hong Kong's horse population as we look to future development," HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

The first horses in training will be shipped to CTC in mid-July, with nine HKJC trainers set to move to a dual-site model at the beginning of the new racing season in Hong Kong in September.