Record crowds, turnover bump have Jockey Club chief hailing ‘outstanding year’

The Hong Kong Jockey Club said it had an “excellent performance” in the past financial year, reporting a 5 per cent increase in turnover to HK$320.3 billion and a record HK$28.8 billion in betting duty and profits tax at its annual general meeting on Friday.

Despite a “challenging economic environment and the rising threat of illegal gambling”, the club said the turnover generated wagering and lottery revenue of HK$43.8 billion out of a total of HK$49.3 billion.

There was also record turnover for football betting, which jumped 7.8 per cent to HK$172.8 billion.

In a year CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said was “nothing short of outstanding”, the club welcomed a record 195,786 visitors from mainland China – a 110 per cent increase over the 2023-24 season – along with an increased number of overseas tourists.

The club said it was “grateful for the government’s policy support for racing tourism”, adding that it appreciated the backing of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

Engelbrecht-Bresges hailed an incredible team effort by all employees and said his organisation owed its success to “our long-term strategic focus on world-class racing and customer centricity”.

“To create even more value for our community, our aspiration is to become a global racing, sports and entertainment brand, reaching out to even more fans across the world,” he added.

“With the Year of the Horse upcoming, and the launch of world-class racing at Conghua Racecourse in October 2026, the prospects for the club, and its commitment to the betterment of society, have never been better.”

And alongside a HK$1.3 billion investment in the Lotteries Fund, the club’s Charities Trust approved HK$9 billion in donations, the second highest in its history, benefiting 202 organisations and community projects.

“In total, the club contributed HK$39.1 billion to the betterment of society in the [financial year] 2024-25,” the HKJC said.

Celebrating its 140th anniversary with star horses Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior dominating world racing, total wagering turnover for 2024-25 was up 1.8 per cent to HK$138.5 billion and for the racing season up 3 per cent to HK$138.9 billion.

The club said key to that success was its globalisation of Hong Kong racing, which was turning the city into a global centre for betting, leading to a 10.1 per cent increase in commingled turnover to HK$31.8 billion.

Looking forward to next year, the club said preparations for racing at Conghua were “progressing smoothly”, although it cautioned that in the short term there would be “relatively few race meetings” at its mainland base.

There would still be a “wide range of equine-related events” and the club said the creation of a racing triangle, linking Sha Tin, Happy Valley and Conghua, would help “promote the Greater Bay Area as a premier tourist destination and international demonstration zone for equine sports”.

In looking to further expand beyond racing, the club said it would embrace the Year of the Horse to develop as a “global sports entertainment brand” and had formed a strategic partnership with XIX Entertainment as part of that move.

“Looking forward, the club will continue to strengthen the quality of its world-class racing and sports entertainment in fulfilment of its purpose: the betterment of our society,” the HKJC said.