Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Company type	Non-profit organization
Industry	Charity
Founded	4 November 1884; 139 years ago (1884-11-04)
Headquarters	Hong Kong
Key people	Michael T H Lee, Chairman Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO
Products	horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment
Website	www.hkjc.com

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (英皇御准香港賽馬會). The institution reverted to its original name in 1996 due to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. Membership of the club is by nomination and election.

It is a non-profit organisation providing horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment in Hong Kong. It holds a government-granted monopoly in providing pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, the Mark Six lottery, and fixed odds betting on overseas football events. The organisation is the largest taxpayer in Hong Kong, as well as the largest community benefactor and one of the city's major employers. In 2022/2023, The Hong Kong Jockey Club contributed a record HK$35.9 billion to the community. This comprised a record HK$28.6 billion in betting duty, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contributions, and HK$7.3 billion in approved charity donations.^[1] The club also proactively identifies, funds and develops projects which anticipate and address social issues and pressing needs in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club also provides dining, social, sport and recreation facilities to its members. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world's top ten charity donors.^[2]

History

Founded in 1884 as an amateur body to promote horse racing, it was an exclusive club whose membership was drawn from the upper class with strict rules of membership.

The club evolved into a professional institution from 1971. The club organised the annual races which took place around Chinese New Year and was initially financed by commissions on bets which were placed through private clubs.

Queen Elizabeth II accorded the club with a royal charter in 1960, and it became The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (英皇御准香港賽馬會) until 1996.

In 2008, the Club supported Hong Kong’s co-hosting of the Beijing Olympics equestrian events, committing HK$1.2 billion to build the competition venues, providing 24-hour veterinary services and also testing services for equine doping control.

In February 2023, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced that the Government included a Special Football Betting Duty of HK$2.4 billion per annum from 2023/24 to 2027/28, amounting to an additional HK$12 billion betting duty from the Club to the public purse.

Racing activities

The HKJC conducts races at its two race tracks at Sha Tin (沙田) and Happy Valley (快活谷).

Total racing turnover for the 2022/23 racing season was HK$141.1 billion, with turnover for the financial year stable at HK$140.4 billion. The Club achieved a record turnover of HK$304.8 billion, which in turn enabled it to contribute a record HK$35.9 billion to the community.

Following the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, the popularity of horse racing declined substantially, possibly due to economic conditions in the region.

On 16 March 2007, the HKJC appointed William (Bill) Nader, formerly with the New York Racing Association, as its executive director of racing from April 2007.

On 9 September 2007, Sha Tin Racecourse opened after its summer break with record 1-day crowd of about 60,000. Chief Secretary Henry Tang struck the ceremonial gong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club collected US$106 million in bets (highest since 2001). Children of horse owners were admitted amid protest of local anti-gambling groups. Sunny Power, booted by Howard Cheng, got the trophy in the 1,200-metre dash.^[3]

In January 2008, Eclipse and Sovereign Award winning jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson became the first North American female rider to be granted a license to compete in Hong Kong.^[4]

Betting and the law

The HKJC has a legal monopoly over betting on horse racing and football. In 1974, it opened 6 off-course branches where the members of the public could wager on horse race meets at the club's Happy Valley racecourse. There are now betting branches throughout the territory that accept bets on racing and football, as well as buy Mark Six lottery tickets.^[5]

The HKJC was instrumental in persuading the Hong Kong government to pass the Gambling (Amendment) Bill 2002 to combat unauthorised cross-border gambling and the related promotional activities in Hong Kong, making it a criminal offence for any person in Hong Kong to bet with an unauthorised bookmaker, even when the bets are received outside Hong Kong. The offence applies to all visitors as well as to residents of Hong Kong.

It was also instrumental in persuading other members of the Asian Racing Federation to sign the Good Neighbour policy on 1 September 2003.

2006 Horse racing reforms

In 2006, after years of declining turnover, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the Betting Ordinance (Amendment) 2006. This amendment granted the Hong Kong Jockey Club more autonomy in how it ran its own operations.

Single-race pools

Pool Name – Dividend Qualification

• Win (獨贏) – 1st in a race.
• Place (位置) –

1st, 2nd or 3rd in a race, or 1st or 2nd in a race of 4 to 6 declared starters (applicable to local races)

1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in a race, or 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a race of 7 to 20 declared starters, or 1st or 2nd in a race of 4 to 6 declared starters (applicable to designated simulcast races)

• Quinella (連贏) – 1st and 2nd in any order in a race
• Quinella Place (位置Q) – Any two of the first three placed horses in any order in a race
• Trio (單T) – 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any order in a race
• Forecast (二重彩) – 1st and 2nd in correct order in a race
• Tierce (三重彩) – 1st , 2nd and 3rd in correct order in a race
• First Four (四連環) – 1st, 2nd , 3rd and 4th in any order in a race
• Quartet (四重彩) – 1st, 2nd , 3rd and 4th in correct order in a race

As of January 2024, rebate applies to each bet placed in Win, Place, Quinella and Quinella Place for all local and overseas races (except Outbound Commingling).

Multiple-race pools

Pool Name – Dividend Qualification – Consolation [if any]

• Double (孖寶) – 1st in each of the two nominated races

Consolation :1st in 1st nominated race and 2nd in 2nd nominated race

• Treble (三寶) – 1st in each of the three nominated races

Consolation : 1st in the first two Legs and 2nd in 3rd Leg of the three nominated races

• Double Trio (孖T) – 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any order in each of the two nominated races
• Triple Trio (三T) – 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any order in each of the three nominated races

Consolation :Select correctly the 1st, 2nd and 3rd horses in any order in the first two Legs of the three nominated races

• Six Up (六環彩) – 1st or 2nd in each of the six nominated races

Six Win Bonus :1st in each of the six nominated races

Fixed-odds pools

• Jockey Challenge (騎師王) – best performing jockey in a race meeting.

Social membership

Membership in this club is very strict, limited to the moneyed social elite. In the past, this club was reserved for only "old money" families; but currently there are increasing numbers of "newly rich" members.^[6] Similar to other elite clubs, HKJC membership applicants often must wait for years if not decades to be accepted. What makes it especially difficult to join is that this club does not allow memberships to be bought and sold in the secondary market.

For joining racing membership, one has to be proposed by a voting member and seconded by another voting member, with the support of three other members. For joining full membership, one has to be proposed by a voting member. Note that if a interested person is not yet a racing member, applications to be racing member and full member must be made at the same time if one is intended to be full member.

Charities

The Hong Kong Jockey Club can trace its long tradition of donating to charitable causes back to at least 1915, but it was in the 1950s, as Hong Kong struggled to cope with post-war reconstruction and a massive influx of immigrants, that this role became integral to its operation. In 1955, the Club formally decided to devote its surplus each year to charity and community projects, and in 1959, a separate company, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (Charities) Ltd, was formed to administer donations. In 1993, a new entity was established, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to reflect the evolving nature, scale and scope of donations. The Charities Trust is one of the world’s top ten charity donors.

Over many years, the Club has established its position as a major social partner in fostering a caring and inclusive community in Hong Kong. It accomplishes this through donations made to its community partners via The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; various Trust-initiated projects; and by organising its own events that allow people to experience a healthy and vibrant lifestyle.

In alignment with Hong Kong's evolving needs, the Trust's strategic foci in the 2022-5 triennium comprises five priority areas – Positive Ageing and Elderly Care; Youth Development and Poverty Alleviation; Healthy Community; Talent and Sector Development; and Sports and Culture. In recognition of the importance of sustainable development, the Trust is incubating Sustainability as a sixth funding priority.

Over the past decade, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has donated an average of HK$5 billion a year to the community. In 2022/2023, its total approved donations were HK$7.3 billion, benefiting 247 charity and community projects.

The Charities Trust’s substantial donations to the community are made possible by The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s unique integrated business model, which comprises racing and racecourse entertainment, responsible sports wagering and lottery, a membership club, and charities and community contribution. Approximately 90% of the Club’s annual operating surplus after tax is donated to its Charities Trust, enabling it to play a significant role in the community’s development.^[7]

Lease

The Happy Valley Racecourse occupies a 92,000 m^2 plot of land on Inland Lot 8847, under a government-subsidized Private Recreational Lease.^[8] The lease began in 1884 and currently is set to expire on 23 June 2034.^[8]

Club chairmen

CEO

The role of Chief Executive Officer was first known as the General Manager. Major-General Bernard Penfold was appointed as the club's first General Manager in 1972.^[9]

1. Major-General Robert Bernard Penfold, CB, LVO (1972–1979)
2. General Sir Arthur John Archer KCB, OBE (1979–1986)
3. Major-General Guy Hansard Watkins, CB, OBE (1986–1996)
4. Lawrence Wong Chee-kong (1996–2007)
5. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, GBS, JP (2007–present)

See also

• Macau Jockey Club
• Gambling in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Jockey Club College
• Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hong Kong Jockey Club.

• Official website
• Satellite view of Shatin race track
• Satellite view of Happy Valley race track