Newly elected Hong Kong Jockey Club Chairman John Chan Cho-chak regards racing against time to finish equestrian facilities for the 2008 Beijing Olympics as his most urgent task, local media reported Friday.

According to South China Morning Post, Chan said after emerging as the successor to Ronald Arculli Thursday night that "there is not a moment to be lost" in the construction of the facilities for the Olympics.

"The equestrian facilities must be completed in time for proper testing in 2007. To date, all the work has proceeded very smoothly. ..it is a very tight timetable and our great challenge is to meet that deadline," he said.

The annual general meeting of 200 voting members of the club elected two new members to the board of stewards, Hysan Development Managing Director Michael Lee Tze-hau and Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Philip Chen Nan-lok. The new board then elevated its former deputy chairman, Chan, to the top role, with former HSBC chief David Eldon elected as deputy chairman.

The Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) managing director said he was " delighted and honored" to be chairman after serving as a club steward for 13 years and paid tribute to Arculli.

"As chairman, I will be spending more time at the Jockey Club, but balancing my work at the club with my work at KMB is nothing new to me - I'm not starting at zero," he said.