By Bruno Barbereau
The 2024–2025 season concluded on July 16 to the applause of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the global racing community. It was a thrilling season, featuring 847 races across 88 meetings, held at the two local temples of galloping: Happy Valley (HV), the urban coliseum under lights, and Sha Tin, stage of the major classic battles. Over 1.7 million spectators attended these events.
Jaw-dropping numbers
With €15.5 billion wagered (HKD 138.85 billion), including 393 foreign races broadcast via simulcast, betting turnover rose by 3% compared to the previous year. Hong Kong confirms its status as a global hub for pari-mutuel betting, thanks to its unique structure blending a strong local turf scene with global integration via the World Pool.
Breathtaking prize money
In Hong Kong, race hierarchy is also defined by the richness of its prize purses. Even Class 5 races, the most modest, offer around €95,000 in total, a luxury by global standards. Class 1 races climb up to nearly €420,000, attracting the best local horses. But the pinnacle, of course, lies in the season’s 12 Group 1 races, which alone distributed over €28 million! Elite events like the Hong Kong Cup (€4.34M) and the Hong Kong Mile (€3.9M) make each edition a high-stakes spectacle - for both horses and punters.
Horses and men
With nearly 1,300 horses in training, Hong Kong’s equine pool is a distilled elite, dominated by imports from Australia and New Zealand. Why? Because these horses, bred for speed, reactivity, and sprinting, are perfectly suited to the signature distances at Sha Tin and Happy Valley. Their genetic profiles thrive on short distances, where everything depends on speed and positioning.
And this season, Hong Kong shone on the global stage: three locally trained horses made it into the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Top 15. The extraordinary Ka Ying Rising, undefeated in 8 races (including 4 Group 1s), rose to 4th in the world with a rating of 126. Alongside him were middle-distance champion Romantic Warrior (also 126) and the gritty Voyage Bubble (121), who finished 15th. Ka Ying Rising, a true sprinting phenomenon, shattered Sha Tin’s 1200m record with a time of 1:07.20 on January 19, also setting the year’s highest Speed Rating: 112. A rocket.
Behind every great horse, extraordinary humans
Behind the horses’ stellar performances are humans with jaw-dropping stats. Once again, “Made in Australia” leads the charge. The legendary John Size proved his mastery of local racing yet again: with 69 wins, he clinched a 13th champion trainer title, pushing his career total to over 1,600 Hong Kong wins. This season alone, his horses earned over €17 million, a testament to his relentless excellence.
Among jockeys, Zac Purton simply rewrote history. With 138 wins, he surpassed the legendary Douglas Whyte (1,813 wins) to become the all-time winningest jockey in Hong Kong, with 1,878 victories. It was a phenomenal season for the Australian, also topping the earnings chart with more than €23 million banked. Purton isn’t just a star, he’s now a living legend of Asian turf.
Speed rules supreme
Hong Kong racing is above all about speed, precision, and strategy. The dominant distances - 1000m, 1200m, 1400m and 1600m - make up nearly 90% of the race calendar. These short, intense courses average just over 12 runners per race, but beware of assumptions: more horses doesn’t always mean more bets. In Hong Kong, track layout and racing style drive betting intensity far more than field size.
Draw position: a key factor
On the tight turns of Happy Valley and the explosive straights of Sha Tin, starting gate draw is crucial. Over 30% of winners come from stalls 1 to 3. In a racing culture where space and speed are at a premium, every centimeter gained at the start can be decisive.
“Move early or disappear”: the critical tempo
Another hallmark of Hong Kong racing: races unfold early.
At 400 meters from the post, over 45% of future winners are already in the top 3.
At the 200-meter mark, 75% are on the provisional podium!
In other words, come-from-behind types are nearly extinct; you have to be there, all the time, right away. It underlines a clear trend: Hong Kong galloping offers no second chances. Horses that can “travel well” (cruising speed + burst) are the ultimate prize.
Hong Kong: A mirror of modern racing
With its well-oiled season running from September to mid-July, its technological precision, exemplary TRANSPARENCY, and commercial dynamism, Hong Kong sets a benchmark: competitive, clear, and thrilling.