Tianjin, for instance, has invested 1.4 billion yuan ($230 million) to build an Equine Culture City, an extravagant five-year project that includes 4,000 horse stables, a clinic, 150 offices for trainers, international standard racetracks and a horse auction center, according to media reports.

China rides a new passion

Growing demand spurs greater horseplay

Wanted: Cowboys in China

Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, last year held the first China Equestrian Cultural Festival, which was acclaimed as the first high-level international horser-acing event ever held in the Chinese mainland since the government legalized horseracing in 2008.

Although there is no imminent sign that Beijing will legalize betting on horse racing soon, the Chinese market will be an inevitable destination for French betting operators and horseracing organizers, which are facing decline domestically because of the economic crisis in Europe.

In 2012, PMU posted a net profit of 865 million euros, down by 1.3 percent on the previous year.

"Betting on horse races in France is a mature business so the capacity to expand with double-digit growth is no longer feasible," Germond said, adding that the current economic crisis in Europe has resulted in tightening the leisure budgets of its customers, given that the betting business is directly linked to the macroeconomic environment.

"Expanding the business outside France is our priority to maintain the growth of our activity and net profit," he said. Last year, PMU achieved 94 percent year-on-year international growth, which helped compensate for the slowdown at home, he said.

In 2012, PMU began to export its betting products to the United States, South Africa and Belgium, which generated an extra 112 million euros of turnover for the company, according to its financial report.