An “outstanding season” of racing in Hong Kong brought a record number of visitors to the city, boosted turnover and took the Jockey Club’s chief into the summer break full of optimism for what comes next.
Less than 24 hours after the curtain came down on the 2025-26 season at the final meeting at Happy Valley Racecourse, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges laid out plans for the sport’s October debut at the club’s new facility in mainland China.
The HKJC’s chief executive said the season had been a huge success, with 401,259 visitors from the mainland and overseas, more than double the number that made the trip last year, and four times as many recorded for the 2023-24 season.
Turnover hit HK$143.31 billion, up 3.2 per cent on last season, while records also tumbled on the track through the remarkable feats of champion gallopers Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior, who became the first to be crowned joint Horse of the Year at last week’s Champion Awards.
Hong Kong races attracted a record commingling turnover of HK$34.4 billion – up 8.3 per cent on last season.
