At the end of racing at Sha Tin Sunday, season-long turnover for the Hong Kong Jockey Club rose to a new high of HK$117.4 billion, a rise of 10.7% compared to the 2015/16 season.
“Our growth this year has been extraordinary, it has surprised me how strong it has been,” said a pleased Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, HKJC CEO. “This time last year we weathered a small economic storm that impacted the region and resulted in a 2% dip in our overall turnover, our first decline in eight seasons. To come back from that with a new record of HK$117.456 billion for the season, is a tremendous performance. Our rise in turnover means that we will make a record tax contribution of HK$13.1 billion, a HK$1-billion increase on last year, which shows the strength of our product and the important contribution we make to the Hong Kong community.”
He added, “The incredible interest in Hong Kong racing from the commingling jurisdictions is one of the main drivers in this year's growth. If you look at last year, the total turnover from commingling was HK$3.47 billion, which was 3.3% of the total; this year, with our expanding portfolio of partners, total turnover from commingling was HK$6.5 billion, an astounding increase of 87.1% and 5.7% of the total. This gives us significant optimism going into next season because we can see that the attractiveness of Hong Kong racing's quality has really captured overseas markets. Hong Kong racing attracts more and more attention because we are providing highly competitive racing, large field sizes, access to unparalleled racing information, and, of course, we ensure high standards when it comes to integrity and racing control measures.”
The total race-day attendance for the season was 2.167 million, while average attendance was 24,600, the same as during the 2015/16 season.
“In the face of an abundance of competing personal entertainment options, we have made a conscious effort to provide modern, interactive and engaging racecourse experiences, and we greatly appreciate the on-going support of racing fans,” Engelbrecht-Bresges concluded.
Several more awards were handed out following Friday's year-end awards, with Derek Leung being presented with the Tony Cruz Award, as the season's most successful homegrown rider. Three-time champion jockey Joao Moreira was also awarded the Most Popular Jockey award follow a public vote. Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) was the Most Admired Overseas Horse and the John Size-trained D B Pin (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) was anointed the Most Improved Horse after rising 55 points in the ratings. For more information, please visit HKJC.com.
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