Records broken, on track and off, as Jockey Club celebrates 140th anniversary with $39.1b community contribution

The Hong Kong Jockey Club celebrated its 140th anniversary year with record contributions to Hong Kong society, unprecedented sporting success, and robust business performance, according to results announced at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 29.

The Club contributed a total of HK$39.1 billion to the community, combining betting duty, profits tax, the Lotteries Fund, and donations through the Charities Trust for the 2024/25 financial year. This included HK$28.8 billion in betting duty and profits tax paid to the HKSAR Government and HK$9.0 billion in charitable donations, boosting more than 200 community projects.

On the race track, Hong Kong’s world-class horses continued to shine: the world’s highest rated sprinter Ka Ying Rising equaled the all-time record with eight wins in a season, including four Group 1s and two track records, to take the Hong Kong Speed Series. Romantic Warrior brought pride to Hong Kong with Group 1 wins in Hong Kong and Dubai and a brave performance in the world’s richest race in Saudi Arabia, to become the world’s highest-earning racehorse of all-time. Meanwhile, Voyage Bubble became the second horse in Hong Kong racing history to win the Triple Crown – the first time the feat had been achieved since the mighty River Verdon completed it more than three decades ago. 

These sporting achievements continued to boost Hong Kong’s profile as an international racing hub and helped attract record tourism. The Club reported a 110% increase in Mainland visitors to its racecourses, welcoming 195,786 for the season, alongside rising numbers of overseas tourists, including high-value visitors.

The Club’s investment in the live race-going experience continued as Happy Valley welcomed new venues The Beat and Vantage that featured new digital experiences for young professionals, while at Sha Tin the Champions Circle and Inner Circle were given multi-million dollar makeovers. On Tuesday, the Club will reveal plans for a new arrival experience for both public racegoers and members.

Financially, the Club delivered resilient growth despite a challenging economy and continued pressure from illegal gambling. Total turnover reached HK$320.3 billion, up 5% year-on-year, supported by gains in football betting (+7.8%) and the Mark Six lottery (+5%). Racing turnover rose 1.8% to HK$138.5 billion.

CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges highlighted the Club’s long-term strategy as the reason it was able to overcome the economic headwinds. “Given the challenging economy, and significant competition from illegal gambling operators, our results this year were nothing short of outstanding,” he said. “We owe our success to our long-term strategic focus on world-class racing and customer centricity, to an incredible team effort by all employees, and above all to a determination to fulfill our purpose: the betterment of society. 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.”

Chairman Michael Lee reflected on an anniversary year that exceeded expectations. “This year the Club celebrated its 140th anniversary with a truly world-class performance that reaffirmed, in every way, our commitment to the betterment of society,” he said. “Our champion horses set new records, putting the global spotlight firmly on Hong Kong. Our racecourses attracted record numbers of tourists, contributing to the tourist economy and international connectivity of our city. In addition to a record HK$28.8 billion in betting duty and profits tax contributed to the HKSAR Government, we approved HK$9.0 billion in donations, including HK$1.4 billion to support youth development.”

Now the Club looks forward to an exciting new era with world-class racing at Conghua Racecourse, near Guangzhou, to start October 2026 – a launch that will occur, quite fittingly, during the Year of the Horse.

Conghua Racecourse has already played a crucial role for the Club as a training center. More than one-third of all runners used the state-of-the-art facilities, contributing HK$4.2 billion in racing betting duty. The extra stable capacity at Conghua also allowed the Club to grow its horse population while carrying out a HK$2.4 billion refurbishment of the Sha Tin stables without disrupting racing operations.

“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,” said Engelbrecht-Bresges.