The Hong Kong Jockey Club has unveiled a HK$4 billion investment strategy that includes holding four race meetings a year in mainland China from March 2025.
“This is part of the Greater Bay Area development – we have the policy endorsement and we have the surety of government-to-government dialogue if this strategic development would run into issues. That gives us confidence to make such a significant investment and plan our future strategy,” said HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.
Conghua Training Centre (photo: HKJC)
“The grandstand [and] the additional stables will be in the vicinity of HK$4 billion in the first stage. Conghua is not like Sha Tin, so what we want to build is a grandstand with a capacity to accommodate around 8000 – 8500 customers. It is likely that we will start first with four race meetings a season and then we can build it up to eight and potentially beyond, but it will be a gradual development and it has to fit into how we expand the horse population and how other developments in China go. It’s a long-term strategic positioning and our board and I are extremely excited about it.”
The Conghua facility in China hosted a five-race exhibition race meeting in March 2019 with 3000 fan on course, with no betting. However the global pandemic and social unrest in Hong Kong prevented another meeting.
With plans to race four times a year initially HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges acknowledged regarding the gambling ban in China: “The question of betting is a different ball game. In the future it could be a simulcast model like Dubai, that might be an option, but it is not something we can speculate on.”
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges
The long-standing CEO said, “First, we have to demonstrate that it’s a world-class sport, it is run with the highest integrity and it creates value for the region. What happens in five, ten or 20 years, no one can foresee. For us, the clear focus is on the implementation of a leisure entertainment, high-class sport, which complements what we do in Hong Kong.”
He added, “That will help us upgrade the quality of the sport and that is the main business justification. If it ever comes to wagering – that is something which nobody could predict and cannot be the basis of what one does – I think that would be subject to even more intense discussions with Guangzhou and Guangdong.”
