The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Sunday that its World Pool, the globe's largest commingled horse racing pools, broke the record for single race turnover in a World Pool race when HK$66.2 million (£6.6m) was bet into Saturday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S., eclipsing the HK$66.1 million wagered in the 2022 G1 Betfred Derby. Saturday's total turnover of HK$323.4 million (£32.5m) is the third-highest World Pool day of all time, checking in behind the Friday (HK$351.8m) and Saturday (HK$340.9m) of Royal Ascot in 2022.
The other two biggest pools of the week were in Friday's G1 Commonwealth Cup and the Tuesday's G2 Ribblesdale Stakes, both drawing HK$50.5m (£5.1m). Total World Pool turnover for Royal Ascot 2023 hit HK$1.5 billion (£154m), slightly down from the HK$1.6 billion wagered a year ago, which was an increase on 2021's figure of 35%.
“Royal Ascot produced exceptional racing once again and it is clear that international racing fans have embraced the quality and depth of fields across the five days,” Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said. “World Pool offers the best international racing for customers across the globe. In the four years since we launched World Pool at Royal Ascot, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has forged–and enhanced – a host of World Pool partnerships around the world and we are delighted at the significant progress achieved so far.”
On Saturday, the HKJC also announced that it has renewed a five-year World Pool partnership agreement with Ascot Racecourse to continue to promote racing as a global sport. Ascot and the HKJC formed the first World Pool partnership in 2019 and the new agreement runs through 2028.
The next World Pool event will be the G1 Irish Derby at The Curragh on Sunday, July 2.
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