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INTER- VIEW
� PAGE 104
By Emmanuel Roussel
HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB ’ S GOLDEN AGE RETURNS
The Covid crisis relatively spared the Hong Kong Jockey Club financially , thanks to exemplary discipline . However , the last few years have been challenging on a human level . Hong Kong also experienced the effects of the severe repression of a student movement , a takeover by Beijing that is becoming increasingly evident , and an exodus of Western expats caused by these shifting trends . However , both on the sporting and economic fronts , Hong Kong racing demonstrated , during the international week in December , that it had learned the necessary lessons and found new momentum .
Three of the four Group 1 races that make up the Longines International Races in December at Sha Tin were won by strong favourites trained locally . Eight of the twelve places in the first four were filled by horses trained in
Hong Kong . Despite a contingent of visitors seemingly more formidable than in recent years , the home team took the lion ’ s share . Better still : Hong Kong-based Thoroughbreds can now project themselves beyond their own borders , emboldened by the successes in Japan , Dubai and Australia of Romantic Warrior and California Spangle , last year and in 2024 . Undeniably , a movement is underway . Hong Kong racing , like others , suffered the trauma of Covid . However , after a period of uncertainty , it has emerged stronger than ever from this disastrous episode . More offensive , too , both on the track and in the global concert of racing nations . The victories of Ka Ying Rising in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint , Voyage Bubble in the Longines Hong Kong Mile and Romantic Warrior in the Longines Hong Kong Cup are part of a new dynamic .
THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB , IN ESSENCE , HOSTS 88 MEETINGS A YEAR ( EQUIVALENT TO THE WINTER MEETING AT VINCENNES ) AND GENERATES REVENUE COMPARABLE TO 150 PRIX DE L ’ ARC DE TRIOMPHE ...
Under the leadership of its CEO , the German Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges , also Chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and the Asian Racing Conference , and a tireless promoter of the World Pool ( the international commingled pari-mutuel pool ), the Hong Kong Jockey Club is at the forefront in many areas : promotion of pari-mutuel betting , quarantine conditions , resource sharing , promotion of integrity , harmonisation of rules , etc . Nothing escapes the vigilance , the almost military organisation and the dynamism of this venerable organisation , which celebrates its 140 th anniversary this year . The only obstacle to its expansion today could be the Chinese authorities , ultimately . Like Paris , Beijing is keen to maintain very strict control over the explosive activity that horse racing betting represents in its eyes . Let ’ s not condemn the distant communist government : the French state , despite being so fond of freedom , constantly prevents operators and the PMU from developing new products . This is not necessarily out of magnanimity and concern for our well-being , but perhaps more to facilitate the levies of the Française des Jeux , which contributes more , for the same stake , to the turpitudes of our “ system “. This is not about lecturing . We would need more credibility . However , as Winfried Engelbrecht- Bresges ( some in China call him “ Eebee “ according to his initials pronounced in English ) revealed in the interview you will read in this edition of Galorama , the levers that , for the development of Hong Kong racing , seemed inaccessible yesterday are less so now . On Sunday , December 8 th , on the occasion of the Longines International Races , more than 7,000 Chinese visitors swelled the ranks of the some 80,000 spectators spread between Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses , 40 % more than the previous edition . At each meeting , the Club estimates the number of these visitors to be between 2,000 and 3,000 . This “ sports tourism “ is the most tangible manifestation of a growing interest in horse racing betting among mainland Chinese . It is still a marginal factor , but one that could support the long-term growth of betting turnover , even if it is difficult to measure its impact today .
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