Hong Kong races to record turnover

Turnover for the curtain-raising 10-race card at Sha Tin on Sunday was a record-high HK$1.376 billion (£134.2 million), an increase of 6.83% from 2019 and a record for a season-opening fixture.

That comes despite the Hong Kong Jockey Club continuing to exercise strict measures on racecourse attendance, where only owners, trainers, media and officials can attend, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commingling, which accounts for money bet overseas into the Hong Kong pools, was also up year-on-year to HK$247 million (£24.1 million), an increase of 18%.

Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “We had probably the best start we could hope for into the new season, amazing results. We were able to increase the turnover despite the fact that we had to close our OCBB’s for race day.

“Commingling was HK$247 million, an increase of 18%, so from this aspect turnover wise, we are more than delighted. I can only say for all of our team members, to get this season on the road was a lot of hard work, a lot of planning and a lot of things behind the scenes.

“I want to congratulate all of our teams as the hard work from everyone has paid off.  We had a good start to the season which is always very important and we look forward to the way that racing continues, so that we can continue to make contributions to the community.”