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South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Horse racing proves clear winner for Hong Kong in tourism stakes
Hong Kong's bet that horse racing and other sports can help the city become a premier destination for high-end travellers appears to be paying off. Recent success at the track and with overseas outreach should spur authorities to keep drawing visitors. Advertisement Nearly 10,000 tourists, a record turnout, were in the stands at Sha Tin Racecourse for FWD Champions Day on Sunday. The Jockey Club said the nearly 42,000-strong crowd was 37.5 per cent larger than the previous year. More than 8,000 visitors were from the mainland, and nearly 1,100 from overseas. About 200 high-net-worth people from Japan attended. Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said numbers were boosted by collaboration with China Travel Service and a pilot initiative to draw high-end visitors. He predicted more in the coming weeks as the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) gets involved. Packages that include visits to racecourses in the city and on the mainland are being organised with China Travel Service to boost tourism and ultimately develop the market in the Greater Bay Area development zone. Advertisement The club's Conghua facility in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, will start hosting regular races in 2026.
South China Morning Post
27-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Record tourist numbers flock to Champions Day, but star filly's death mutes celebrations
Punters cheer the start of the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Photos: Kenneth Chan A record number of tourists flocked to Sha Tin for FWD Champions Day on Sunday, with Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges hailing the event a success despite the death of superstar Japanese filly Liberty Island. Crowd numbers were up 37.5 per cent year on year, the club said. Fans, meanwhile, wagered north of HK$1.5 billion, which was 3.34 per cent down on 12 months ago, a dip the CEO attributed somewhat to the absence of local star Romantic Warrior. And while the club celebrated following such a big event, they were muted after Liberty Island broke down in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m). The five-year-old suffered a leg injury in the feature and had to be euthanised. 'We normally celebrate with champagne but I feel today in honour of the tremendous filly that this is not the right thing to do. I'm really sad about that but unfortunately this is part of racing,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'I want to really honour a filly like Liberty Island, who was one of the great race fillies.' Among a bustling crowd of 41,943 at Sha Tin were nearly 10,000 tourists, with the club's collaboration with the China Travel Service and a pilot of a soon-to-be-launched tour initiative for high-end visitors contributing to the numbers. There was also a 12-strong group from Australia travelling with Ontrack Racing Tours, with the Jockey Club estimating each person would inject HK$70,000 into the Hong Kong economy. 'We had a record for Champions Day of 8,244 mainland visitors and we had nearly 1,100 overseas visitors coming,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said, adding there had been a 'targeted test where we had 200 high-net-worth people from Japan'. Engelbrecht-Bresges said while the tests were 'not the full monty', the club hoped to roll the initiative out in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board in the next few weeks. 'Then we have the collaboration with the China Travel Group, who were responsible for a lot of people here today, and that will go even further,' the CEO said. Engelbrecht-Bresges was full of praise for the HKJC team's 'terrific effort to put a marvellous event on' even without Romantic Warrior running in the QE II Cup, which he said was a difference of around HK$40 million in betting terms. 'I think today's race meeting had a tremendous atmosphere and we saw tremendous performances on the track,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'The feedback we got from everybody was that this was a really successful meeting. We dialled up the entertainment and it was a tremendous atmosphere.' HE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚀 Ka Ying Rising makes it 12 straight wins, four Group 1s and a HK$5 million Speed Series bonus with victory in the 2025 Chairman's Sprint Prize... @zpurton #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025 On the track, Ka Ying Rising was the star attraction with his victory in the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m), while rank outsider Red Lion also did the locals proud in the Group One Champions Mile and Tastiera flew the flag for Japan by taking out the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m). 'Today there was one performance which was completely dominant and we are very glad we have, I would humbly say, by far the best sprinter in the world. He showed how good he is and that created a tremendous atmosphere,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said of Ka Ying Rising. 'We feel that Hong Kong racing is going, despite significant geopolitical and economic issues, from strength to strength. 'We look forward to even more horses coming to Hong Kong to make this day even bigger than it is currently, even if I would say it is the biggest [Champions Day] that we have had for a long period of time and we see it as a success.'
South China Morning Post
19-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Jockey Club partners with China Travel Service to boost racing tourism
The Hong Kong Jockey Club has partnered with China Travel Service (CTS) to offer tour packages which include visits to its racecourses in the city and on the mainland, targeting visitors from neighbouring Chinese cities to boost racing tourism. Advertisement The club signed a memorandum of understanding with the travel agency on Wednesday to promote tourism in the Greater Bay Area. The bay area refers to Beijing's ambitious plan to transform Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an integrated hi-tech, economic powerhouse by 2035. Under the agreement, tour packages offered by CTS will include visits to the club's Hong Kong racecourses in Happy Valley and Sha Tin and its Conghua racecourse in Guangdong province, which will also start hosting regular races in 2026. The Conghua racecourse was the equestrian venue for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games and can house more than 660 horses. Advertisement The facility covers 150 hectares – twice the size of the Sha Tin complex – and is being built in a special equine disease-free zone in a mountainous area known for hot springs and future ecotourism.
