HKJC

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has been at the helm of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) since 2007, presiding over a significant expansion of the Asian racing scene. Emmanuel Roussel received an update from the CEO during last weekend's Hong Kong International meeting, with topics including the development of racing at Conghua on the Chinese mainland, and the potential for the HKJC to establish breeding bases in Europe and Australia to boost its supply of Thoroughbreds. Emmanuel Roussel: The international week is always a great event, so close to the festive season....

The 2023 Longines Hong Kong International Races have been hailed by Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges as "one of the best" that the Hong Kong Jockey Club has hosted since he started with the club 25 years ago. A commingling turnover record was set for the 10-race Sha Tin meeting of HK$429.6 million (£43,846,126/€51,090,128/$55,018,239), with a crowd of 65,252 on hand at Sha Tin. That was the largest attendance number recorded at the HKIR since 2019. In addition, turnover at the meeting was HK$1.697 billion (£173,200,365/€201,815,520/$217,332,291)....

The dramatic victory of the world's highest rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March has been voted the World Pool Moment of the Year. It is the second year of the award, which was given to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and her groom Annabel Willis in 2022. The groom of near black superstar, Tomohiro Kusunoki, is the recipient of a VIP trip to the 2024 Hong Kong Derby or the 2024 Champions Day along with...

The World Pool season has ended with a 24% year-on-year turnover increase to HK$7.4 billion, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Tuesday. The largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the HKJC, the World Pool started and finished the year at Flemington Racecourse in Australia. In total, there were 222 races--up from 154 races in 2022--in eight countries. World Pool was active in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Australia for the first time and expanded its imprint with extra races from the UK and Ireland....

Sunday's G1 Longines Grand Premio Latinamericano at San Isidro will be an inaugural World Pool event and this will be the first time global betting will be engaged across three continents on a single weekend, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced Thursday. The HKJC confirmed that while the local tote in Argentina will not commingle internationally, other partners' pools from the likes of Australia, France, North America and Hong Kong will be joined up by World Pool. The Latin American Group 1 contest will close a major weekend of World...

The upcoming Sun Chariot Day at Newmarket's Rowley Mile on Saturday, Oct. 7, will be worth a record £600,000, The Jockey Club announced on Thursday. The fixture will host four World Pool races for the first time, and the G1 Virgin Bet Sun Chariot S. will be worth £275,000. Another stakes, the G3 Tattersalls October Auction S., will carry a purse of £150,000, and both the 10-furlong British EBF Premier Fillies' H. and the 12-furlong British Stallion Studs EBF Premier Fillies' H. will each boast prize-money of £70,000. This quartet...

The Irish Champions Stakes Day at Leopardstown resulted in  €27.7 million (HK$232.2m) bet into the World Pool via the seven World Pool bet types in operation last Saturday. Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) delivered in the highlight race of the day--the G1 Irish Champion S. This was the third year World Pool was in operation on the Irish card, and turnover was almost on par with 2022's figure of HK$234.8m (approx. €27.9m) and significantly up on 2021's figure of HK$192.8m (€22.9m). Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products, at the...

A trio of new race days have been approved for the 2023 World Pool calendar by the Hong Kong SAR government, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Thursday. The HKJC applied for Newmarket's Sun Chariot S. Day on Oct. 7, Turnbull S. Day at Flemington that same day, and Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley on Oct. 28 to be added to the schedule. A total of four races will be world pool events at Newmarket that day, while five races at Flemington have been added to the...

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will extend the distribution of prizemoney to sixth place in all races for the 2023-24 season, the organization announced Monday. Last season, prizemoney was paid to the first six finishers in all 12 of Hong Kong's Group 1 races, as well as the BMW Hong Kong Derby, while prizemoney was distributed to the top five in all other races. Under the revised schedule, 2% of the total purse will be allocated to the sixth-place finisher.

Sunday's G1 Irish Derby at the Curragh and Hamburg's G1 Deutsches Derby cards both resulted in strong turnover for the World Pool, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Wednesday. A total of HK$246.9 million (€28.9m/£24.9m) was reported as turnover on the eight-race Irish card and the Deutsches Derby, which was the first-ever World Pool event in Germany. Created and operated by the HKJC, the World Pool also offered value for racing fans with Tote+ Win beating SP in six of the eight races on Irish Derby Day and Tote+...

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...

A five-year partnership renewal agreement for pool betting was agreed upon by Ascot Racecourse and the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) on Friday. The deal renewal, signed by Michael Fitzsimons of the HKJC and Felicity Barnard of Ascot, features the delivery of a dedicated HKJC feed from Ascot, as well as additional content to help raise awareness of the racing at Ascot in Hong Kong. It will begin on July 1, 2023 and last until July 1, 2028. It is an extension of a deal that began between the two...