The turnover of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the 2017/8 season hit £11.9bn (HK$124.2bn), a 5.8 per cent increase, it has been announced.
This is nearly three times the amount wagered on horse racing in the UK (£4.3bn in 2017). At the same time commingling turnover on the season’s final day in Hong Kong came to £32.2m, about the same amount that the UK wagers each day at Royal Ascot.
Commingling is the turnover from people betting on Hong Kong racing from other countries. The money goes into a pool held by local operators in those countries.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “Commingling is quickly changing the global landscape and that is seen in the fact that it made up 13.3 per cent of our season’s turnover this year compared to 5.5 per cent last year. On the final day, we reached a new record of HK$335m for a single race meeting, a truly extraordinary mark.
"It is now a significant driver to Hong Kong’s turnover and that is due to the ever-increasing international interest in our racing product, which is proving to be attractive as an exciting sports option founded upon the highest integrity.”
Thepicture shows Engelbrecht-Bresges (centre) with Andrew Harding (right), director of racing, and Richard Cheung, director of customer and international business development ,on the last day of racing in Hong Kong.
