The Hong Kong Jockey Club's vision of world-class sport meeting entertainment came to life in a frenzy of color and celebration at Sha Tin on Sunday when the city's greatest racehorses made FWD Champions Day live up to its name.
More than 41,000 fans packed the racecourse on a brilliant April afternoon, waving banners, chanting the names of their heroes and betting a combined HK$1.79 billion — up 18.3 percent on last year's corresponding fixture.
But this day was about far more than numbers.
Before the racing even began, K-pop powerhouse vocalist Hwasa and renowned local singer Pakho Chau Pak-ho set the tone with performances in the Sha Tin pre-parade ring, the kind of entertainment crossover the Jockey Club has been chasing as it seeks to broaden the sport's appeal.
Ka Ying Rising won his 20th straight race, Romantic Warrior claimed a record fourth QEII Cup and My Wish completed a clean sweep of the three Group 1 races for local horses — but the full story of Sunday's spectacle was told in the grandstand as much as on the track.
HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was beaming afterward.
"We not only want to create a racing event, we want to create an entertainment event," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "The performances we saw before the races set the stage. This is what we want to present — world-class racing and entertainment together."
Attendance dipped 10 percent to 41,278 compared to last year, but tourist numbers hit a record of more than 13,000 on course — a clear sign that the global fame of Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior is driving international interest in Hong Kong racing. Overseas commingling figures also climbed to an all-time high.
"Our whole policy of equine tourism is on track and you will see more from us in this area," Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
"When it comes to turnover, we missed HK$1.8 billion by two million. The figures speak for themselves," he said.
"We are delighted that we had the great support of a wonderful sponsor. They are a great partner," he said of FWD.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said the quality of the racing had vindicated the Jockey Club's ambitions to position Champions Day as a global sporting occasion.
"What we really want to excel is the sporting side — what we humbly say is the greatest show on turf," he said. "Even some people who ran second or third, they were delighted with their performances."
The CEO reserved his highest praise for Ka Ying Rising, calling the sprinter the best he has ever seen in the division after his dominant victory in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
"Twenty-one wins from 23 starts — but the astonishing thing is how he becomes more professional," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "I may be personally biased, but the effortlessness that he dominates his races against a world-class sprinter in Satono Reve is absolutely sensational. We are all just glad to see world-class racing and a world-class sprinter."
He described Romantic Warrior simply as "a champion."
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
