LONGINES Hong Kong International Races sees rise in attendance
HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges described the event as a “tremendous success for Hong Kong horses”.
Hong Kong.- The LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR), held yesterday (December 8) at Sha Tin and Happy Valley Racecourses, saw its highest attendance since 2018, drawing over 80,000 spectators (69,916 at Sha Tin and 10,775 at Happy Valley) There were 6,511 visitors from Mainland China.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), said: “When one looks purely at the results, it was a tremendous success for Hong Kong horses but our overseas horses also ran really well. When you talk to the overseas owners, even if their horses finished second or third, they say it was a wonderful experience to come to Hong Kong and support the meeting.”
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Winners included Ka Ying Rising (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint), Voyage Bubble (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile), and Giavellotto (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase), which marked Great Britain’s first win at the Turf World Championships since 2012. Romantic Warrior made history by winning the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup for the third year in a row.
The event was broadcast live to 29 countries. Turnover reached HK$1,716.3m (US$223.12m), including a record HK$473.8m (US$61.59m) from commingling operations, up 10 per cent year-on-year.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “Our strategy to bring the best races from Hong Kong and show them overseas is really proving a great success with our races today for the first time under the World Pool banner, which shows our racing product is extremely well received.”
Andrew Harding, HKJC executive director, added: “The emphasis was on international. We were so pleased to see the entries from so many countries, including for the first time for a little while from Australia, and the quality of the entries was outstanding – I would like to acknowledge our team in achieving that.”
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