Michael Fitzsimons

After 24 World Pool Moment of the Day prizes were awarded in 2024, which saw each groom of the winning horse receive a cheque for £4,000, four finalists remain in the running to be crowned World Pool Moment of the Year. This year's shortlist for the World Pool Moment of the Year competition features winners from the UAE, Australia, Ireland and the UK, with the grooms of each in contention to win a VIP trip to Hong Kong next year, should they come out on top in the public vote....

Turnover on World Pool bet types across the 12 races from Randwick, Caulfield and Ascot on Saturday reached a record high for a single day's racing, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Tuesday. A total of HK$424.1m (around £48m) was staked from over 28 countries, eclipsing the previous record of HK$385.2m (£38m) set when 12 races from the Queensland and Epsom Derby meetings took place under the World Pool banner earlier this year. Ascot's six races on QIPCO British Champions Day generated HK$200m (£19.75m) of the HK$424.1m. Turnover...

World Pool's contribution to British and Irish racecourses has surpassed £50 million since its inception in 2019, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Thursday. A total of 580 races across nine different tracks in the UK and Ireland have been globally commingled by the HKJC since the World Pool's inaugural fixture at Royal Ascot in 2019, with the Curragh, Epsom Downs, Goodwood, Leopardstown, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown Park and York all hosting World Pool racedays. Since its inauguration, the number of World Pool races has increased dramatically, from 30...

From its launch in 2019, covering the five days of Royal Ascot, the World Pool has grown gradually to 33 race days this year across eight different countries. It is fair to expect to see that expansion continue apace. The international commingling of betting pools was the brainchild of Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which powers World Pool. Twenty-eight jurisdictions can now bet into that pool. "It is our vision to bring the world's finest racing to domestic customers all year round," states the World Pool...

World Pool turnover on the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and Irish Derby Day as a whole posted new records on Sunday. Turnover from World Pool bet types on the Irish Derby rose four percent on last year to hit HK$35.4 million (€4.2 million). Across the nine races, the total value of bets placed reached HK$235 million (€28 million), up on last year's figure of HK$220.7 million (€26.3 million) on what was World Pool's second year in operation on Irish Derby Day. Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products at...

There have been 27 individual World Pool Moment of the Day winners in the 2023 season--each winning groom receiving a £4,000 award--and an independent panel from the Hong Kong Jockey Club narrowed that list down to four finalists who will compete for a VIP trip for four to Hong Kong next year via a public vote. The finalists are Tomohiro Kusunoki, the groom of Japanese globetrotting superstar Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn); Paige Harrison, the groom of MG1SW Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}); Raj Rasiah, groom of G1SW Quickthorn (GB)...

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...

World Pool, the largest commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), will expand to 25 fixtures in 2023, with some of the new additions the Lightning S. Day in Australia (Feb. 18), The Saudi Cup (Feb. 25), and Irish Derby Day (July 2). Provisional World Pool events will be hosted on the following days in 2023: 28: Met Day - Kenilworth Racecourse, South Africa 18: Black Caviar Lightning Race Day - Flemington Racecourse, Australia 25: Saudi Cup - King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh,...