Hong Kong Jockey Club

Pair of Group 1 Winners Added to Entries for Hong Kong International Races

The number of horses nominated to run at the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races has been boosted to 193 after the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced Celestial Legend (Aus) (Dundeel {NZ}) and Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), trained in Australia and Japan, respectively, as supplementary entries on Thursday. Celestial Legend and Sol Oriens join the all-star cast of nominations revealed on Wednesday ahead of the flagship meeting which takes place at Sha Tin on Sunday, December 8, with elite performers such as Romantic Warrior...

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Internationals Take Aim At Longines HKIR, As Entries Revealed

A truly international cast of 191 horses, among them 58 Group/Grade 1 winners, have been entered for the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Dec. 8. Billed as the 'Turf World Championships', the races will offer record total prize-money of HK$126 million (£12,521,226/€15,043,683/$16,215,920). Group 1 riches will be offered for the following quartet of races:  the HK$40-million Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m), HK$36-million Longines Hong Kong Mile (1600m), HK$26-million Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and HK$24-million Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m). The locals...

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British Champions Day Contributes to New Record World Pool Turnover

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...

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World Pool Contribution to British and Irish Racecourses Hits £50 Million

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...

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Computer Assisted Wagering: Different Worlds, Different Fixes

Calling extreme odds changes the "Achilles heel of pari-mutuel wagering," Michael Fitzsimons, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing products, recently sold the audience at the Asian Racing Conference on a plan to standardize global access to the World Pool by sophisticated computer teams. "For the first time, we are proposing this year to work on the World Pool professional hubs, where we come together with operators to agree to the rules and through our smart contracts technology, we will enforce these rules no matter where the professional...

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'The Potential to Save World Racing': Views on World Pool Expansion

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...

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Records Broken as Hong Kong Brings the Curtain Down on its 2023/24 Season

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) reported record commingling turnover of HK$28.8 billion as the 2023/24 season concluded at Sha Tin on Sunday, with 26 countries and more than 70 partners now commingling on Hong Kong racing. That total represented a 13.7% increase on the 2022/23 season, while overall turnover on simulcasting for the season was also up by 8.7% to HK$12.8 billion as Hong Kong continued to offer wagering on the very best of world racing through the World Pool. This year the number of World Pool races increased from...

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Trio Of Countries To Feature World Pool This Weekend

World Pool's globally commingled pools will be in operation in Britain, Germany and South Africa this weekend, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Friday. The G1 Durban July and G1 Garden Province Stakes are both World Pool races at Greyville in South Africa on Saturday for the first time, while the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes returns to the World Pool fold at Sandown later that same day. Hamburg Racecourse in Germany will feature the G1 Deutsches Derby and three other races on the card on Sunday--the G3 Hamburger Stutenpreis,...

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Global Summit on Equine Safety and Technology Highlights Recent Research

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Global Summit on Equine Safety and Technology took place at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada June 12-14. The Summit was attended by approximately 90 international research scientists, clinicians, veterinarians and racing regulators from at least 13 countries. "The Summit has been a major achievement for the Federation and our ongoing commitment to improving equine safety and welfare," said IFHA Executive Council Member Jim Lawson, who delivered the Summit's closing remarks. "Scientific research and technology are cornerstones of the IFHA's efforts to protect our...

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Atzeni And Bentley Re-Licenced By HKJC

Former UK-based jockeys Andrea Atzeni and Harry Bentley have once again been granted licences by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) for the upcoming season. Atzeni is currently ranked fourth during the 2023/2024 season with 44 wins, and Bentley is enjoying his best season in Hong Kong with 34 winners. Atzeni said, "I've had a fantastic time in Hong Kong. To be in the top five of the jockeys' championship for most of the season, to win two group races, and to be on 44 winners, was definitely more than...

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World Pool Announces Record Turnover For Epsom and Queensland Derby Days

Saturday's fixtures at Epsom in Britain and Eagle Farm in Australia have set a new record for World Pool turnover, with 12 races across the two racedays generating HK$385.2 million (approx. £38.7m/A$74.2m). The previous record for a 12-race composite card came in March of this year when World Pool offered eight races on Dubai World Cup night, alongside two races each from Tancred S. Day and Australian Cup Day, which saw turnover from World Pool bet types of HK$378.1 million (£38m/A$72.6m). The G1 Derby at Epsom itself saw notable growth...

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'Warrior' Comes Out To Play In the Yasuda Kinen

A plan was hatched by owner Peter Lau and trainer Danny Shum as early as last June to set their multiple champion Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) on a course towards the G1 W S Cox Plate in Melbourne some four months later. Having departed Hong Kong in mid-September, the gelding endured a sub-optimal period in quarantine at Werribee until the Australian government approved the shipment of his regular feed from Hong Kong to Victoria and Romantic Warrior was an underdone fourth in the G1 Turnbull S. at Caulfield Oct....

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