Latest news with #WinfriedEngelbrecht-Bresges
RTHK
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTHK
Array of events to mark Year of the Horse: HKJC CEO
Array of events to mark Year of the Horse: HKJC CEO The Hong Kong Jockey Club wants to further boost its entertainment capability to draw tourists. File photo: RTHK The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) said it is looking to further up the international ante by not only consolidating its world-class racing status, but also boosting its entertainment capacity to make Hong Kong one of Asia's most vibrant destinations. He added that an exciting lineup of events are in the pipeline to mark the Year of the Horse next year. Earlier this month, the HKJC announced a massive partnership initiative with entertainment brand XIX Entertainment. Its founder, Simon Fuller, is the man behind pop group Spice Girls, and popular show American Idol. The Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, told RTHK's Backchat programme on Thursday that the move is essential in helping the Club boost its entertainment capability. "We think we're perfect when it comes to horse-racing and sport, but when you venture into the entertainment field, you have to have a partner who has the same global expertise and vision we have, and this is Simon Fuller, when you look at his CV and XIX Entertainment," he said. "And he [Simon Fuller] loves Hong Kong - he's one of the biggest advocates of Hong Kong." Engelbrecht-Bresges said the HKJC is looking to strengthen its status as an internationally-recognised sports and entertainment body by, for example, partnering with other global horse racing brands like Royal Ascot and Breeders Cup. "We see next year's unique opportunity with the Year of the Horse... and we want to use this as a real platform for a global brand campaign - how we position Hong Kong, how we create more entertainment-based sport events in Hong Kong around horse racing and equestrian,' he added.
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
25-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘High-end international tourists' to experience revamped facilities at Sha Tin
As Hong Kong government promotes racing tourism, Champion Circle and Inner Circle improvements can enhance race-going experience for all Just 48 hours before it welcomes thousands of international guests to Sha Tin for FWD Champions Day, the Jockey Club on Friday unveiled upgraded dining and entertainment facilities it was confident would 'enhance the race-going experience for both local racing fans and overseas visitors'. With the Hong Kong government eager to unlock racing's potential to attract high-spending visitors, the Jockey Club said 'dozens of high-end international tourists will be among the first customers to enjoy the premium experience offered by Inner Circle'. 'This is a wonderful venue which will help to keep the racing interest of our customers and I look forward to welcoming customers on Sunday,' said Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges of the revamped Champion Circle and Inner Circle on the third floor of grandstand one at Sha Tin. 'I think this is one of the most interesting venues if you really like horse racing. This is not only for members but for the public and it shows our determination to recognise the contribution our customers make to Hong Kong.' Improvements to Champion Circle, which is geared more towards Hong Kong customers, and Inner Circle have been undertaken using 'feedback from customer surveys, particularly in terms of ambience, space and catering' and the space features 'the longest venue-exclusive balconies on-course, overlooking both the parade ring and the track'. 'We hope the stylish interior, optimised layout, wide variety of seating combinations and venue-specific and upgraded catering choices have all the boxes checked, taking our customers' sporting and social entertainment experience, which is unique to the racecourse, to the next level,' Dennis Hau, the Jockey Club's executive director of customer strategy, insights and innovation, said. The renovations are part of phase four of the Jockey Club's HK$7.5 billion racecourse master plan, with phase five aimed at further catering to tourists, particularly Gen Z. 'In the next phase, which we will reveal in September, we will build a completely new arrival experience in grandstand two and there we will have more facilities for our mainland tourists who come to the races,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'For international tourists, we will have certain zones which create a special experience. We will have on the sixth and seventh floor certain venues for the real high-end tourists, I would call them VIP tourists. 'Looking at our strategy to expand our customer base and equine tourism, we will have special venues designed for our equine tourists who come to Hong Kong.' After about 10,000 tourists descended on the city for the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December, the Jockey Club again expected healthy tourist numbers at Sha Tin this Sunday, fuelled by tour groups from mainland China and Australia.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Jockey Club hopeful Happy Valley races can compliment Hong Kong Sevens week in 2026
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was 'cautiously optimistic' the Jockey Club could broker a deal with the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) to hold racing at Happy Valley during next year's Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens week. Long one of the real head scratchers of one of the city's biggest weeks, the regular 'Happy Wednesday' party is replaced by a soulless Sha Tin dirt meeting while the HKFC Tradition 10s takes place in the Happy Valley infield. While a few tourists trudged out to Sha Tin last Wednesday, many were left disappointed they could not take in one of Hong Kong's most popular attractions while in town for the rugby. At a time when the Hong Kong government is all in on horse racing tourism – Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui told the Post last week the city was using it to attract high-spending visitors – it seems a no-brainer that officials work together to ensure the Happy Valley races can compliment the 10s and Hong Kong Sevens week. 'The hope next year is that we can make a real racing tourism attraction around the rugby with racing on the Wednesday, hopefully, in the Valley,' said Engelbrecht-Bresges, adding that one of his reasons for optimism was last year's appointment of former Hong Kong China Rugby CEO, Robbie McRobbie, as the Jockey Club's executive manager of charities (sports). 'We have tried this for I don't know how many years but I am a little bit more optimistic that next year maybe it can happen. That would be perfect,' Engelbrecht-Bresges added. 'In the end, it's a decision of the Football Club. They have the right to hold the 10s and if they say no, it's no. There's nothing we can do about it. 'We have made multiple attempts and I can understand they see certain financial [negatives]. I have a little more of an optimistic view that this could be resolved.' The HKFC's hold on that particular Wednesday night is part of a long-standing agreement dating back to when Happy Valley racecourse was expanded in the 1990s and the HKFC's facilities had to be completely rebuilt, with its pitches shifted into the middle of the racecourse. On a normal Wednesday night, the Happy Valley infield is cleared of all sporting activities at least half an hour before the first race. For the racing to take place on the Wednesday of the first day of the 2026 10s, the rugby would have to finish around 6pm – about three hours earlier than it did this year. 'I'm cautiously optimistic we can create a win-win situation and it would be good for Hong Kong,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'It's not mission impossible, but one has to see if maybe one can create events for [the HKFC] in their facilities because probably they are afraid everyone goes over [to the races] and then their bars are empty. 'From our side there is flexibility because we don't have to race at that time at Sha Tin, but we have to submit the fixtures to get approval in April or May.' Engelbrecht-Bresges spent Saturday at the Sevens and was full of praise for Kai Tak Stadium. 'I think as a stadium, in principle, it's amazing. The atmosphere I saw was extremely good,' he said. 'I talked to a lot of international guests who were really complimentary. It gives Hong Kong a stage for international tourism and sports events which we didn't have before. It was fantastic.'
South China Morning Post
10-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong International Sale needs ‘holistic review of every element'
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said he would order a 'holistic review of every element' of the Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS) after a string of disappointing results at Friday night's auction at Sha Tin. After six of the catalogue's 21 horses were withdrawn before the sale on veterinary advice, the average purchase price dropped 9 per cent year on year, and only five of the 15 lots to go through the ring fetched more than their presale cost, resulting in a loss of HK$8.82 million just on the gallopers sold. The total presale cost of the six late withdrawals came to HK$24 million, although the Jockey Club was expected to look to recoup some of its losses by selling some of the withdrawn lots by private tender. Those numbers came a year after the average purchase price dropped more than 30 per cent. 'It's simple – disappointing,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said when asked for his thoughts on a sale that has long been maligned for its lack of overall quality. 'I'm especially disappointed about the number of horses who had to be withdrawn. This is a number which, in my view, needs a complete review,' he added, confirming as many as 11 further horses were bought by the Jockey Club that did not even make it into the catalogue, meaning fewer than half the total purchases were sold on Friday. 'When you look statistically, you would have to expect that 25 per cent, maybe 30 per cent, will not make it. But we are way beyond that, so you have to factor in the whole chain – is it from the buying, do we always buy the right pedigrees, what is the preparation?' Engelbrecht-Bresges put a decline in interest from buyers down to a change in market conditions in Hong Kong. He pointed to the club's continued efforts to entice owners to buy Private Purchases (previously raced horses) by offering a bonus scheme which sees gallopers scoop as much as HK$3 million by winning at certain levels before they turn five. 'With the PP bonuses, some people say 'I would have bought at the auction before but I pay now maybe even HK$1 million more, I buy a PP and I get another HK$1.5 million',' he said. 'There was not enough depth because a lot of times there was not a really strong underbidder. So that is a demand issue besides a supply issue. 'We normally have a lot of mainland buyers. This year we had only one, so we have to look at everything. 'The market has changed and when the market changes, you have to see if what you do is still the right thing to do and you have to think how you put a value proposition there. 'So, it's one thing when you get the withdrawal of horses, which definitely makes it not very sustainable, but the other one is to step back and say how the market has changed. You need to make an analysis and see what you do.' The HKIS exists to offer Jockey Club members an alternative way to buy bloodstock, with gallopers sourced from 'many of the world's premier yearling sales and pre-trained in Australia and Great Britain before coming to Hong Kong'. The world's highest-earning racehorse, Romantic Warrior, is the sale's flag-bearer, although his owner, Peter Lau Pak-fai, was a notable absentee from the list of purchasers after being active at multiple recent sales. Telling was the fact one of this year's most prominent buyers was the Jockey Club itself, who snaffled two lots through its The Racing Club membership arm for HK$6 million. Group Three winner Patch Of Theta and Hong Kong Derby hopeful Markwin are other gallopers to come out of the HKIS in recent years. 'If you look at the overall picture, the sale is a tiny part of our business and what you want to achieve is a good service for owners and an experience for new owners – so that they're familiar with how we select horses with pedigree, so there is a certain educational part of this, too,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'I still believe there are some really good horses in the sale.' An I Am Invincible gelding led the way on Friday night, fetching a bid of HK$5 million.
