140 Years of Racing Excellence

How it all began

In the autumn of 1884, a group of 34 like-minded enthusiasts channelled their passion for horse racing into the founding of a members' club. Despite the simple setting — a basic racetrack bolstered by a few wooden stands situated on what had previously been a patch of marshland — this decision would be momentous. For the former marsh was none other than Happy Valley, Hong Kong.

From humble beginnings

The mightiest of giants have humble beginnings and 140 years later, The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is now amongst the world's leading racing organisations.

Unrecognisable from its original state, Happy Valley is now home to one of the world’s most iconic sports entertainment venues, drawing thousands of racegoers to its race meetings weekly.

Read more
From humble beginnings

The mightiest of giants have humble beginnings and 140 years later, The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is now amongst the world’s leading racing organisations.

Unrecognisable from its original state, Happy Valley is now home to one of the world’s most iconic sports entertainment venues, drawing thousands of racegoers to its race meetings weekly.

For example, the 2023 International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) during the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) week returned to pre- COVID-19 levels with almost 20,000 people in attendance. The crowd erupted in cheers as local hero Vincent Ho (on now-legendary horse Golden Sixty) became the first home-grown jockey to win the IJC, marking another memorable milestone in Hong Kong’s racing development.

On the course to success

The success and growth of racing in Hong Kong led to the creation of a new racing venue in the city. In 1978, the Club opened the doors to the city's second racecourse in Sha Tin, which would also act as a home and training centre for the city's steeds.

Read more
On the course to success

The success and growth of racing in Hong Kong led to the creation of a new racing venue in the city. In 1978, the Club opened the doors to the city's second racecourse in Sha Tin, which would also act as a home and training centre for the city's steeds.

Just like Happy Valley, Sha Tin Racecourse would gain a world-class reputation quickly, becoming the home of the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) a decade later, starting with the first Hong Kong Invitation Cup in 1988. In recent years, the HKIR has often drawn upwards of 80,000 racegoers from around the world.

World-class excellence

Today, the four LONGINES Hong Kong International Races are globally recognised events, broadcast to more than 40 regions and countries, and shining a spotlight on Hong Kong racing excellence. With each of the four races holding Group 1 status, they have become renowned as the "Turf World Championships". Over the season, Hong Kong now hosts 31 International Group races, with 12 of them at Group 1 level.

Read more
World-class excellence

Today, the four LONGINES Hong Kong International Races are globally recognised events, broadcast to more than 40 regions and countries, and shining a spotlight on Hong Kong racing excellence. With each of the four races holding Group 1 status, they have become renowned as the "Turf World Championships". Over the season, Hong Kong now hosts 31 International Group races, with 12 of them at Group 1 level.

The success of Hong Kong racing is clearly visible in the globally regarded quality of its horses, participants and races. Despite having less than 0.7 percent of the world's racehorses in training and playing host to 0.8 percent of the world's races, Hong Kong horses and races regularly feature among the world's finest.

In the annual edition of the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2023, four Hong Kong elite horses featured in the top 15.

Legendary horses

Our city has played host to a number of legendary horses. Racegoers have fond memories of champions such as Fairy King Prawn, Silent Witness, Vengeance Of Rain, Viva Pataca, Good Ba Ba, Sacred Kingdom, Able Friend, and Beauty Generation, who all made their mark in Hong Kong’s racing history.
Fairy King Prawn
Silent Witness
Vengeance of Rain
Viva Pataca
Good Ba Ba
Sacred Kingdom
Able Friend
Beauty Generation
River Verdon, in particular made headlines as Hong Kong's first Triple Crown winner and the first local horse to venture overseas when sent to tackle the 1992 Arlington Million in Chicago.
River Verdon
Romantic Warrior
Golden Sixty
This roll call of glory continues today, with more recent champions like Romantic Warrior and Golden Sixty already sealing their own place among the greats. Golden Sixty has become the world's top-earning racehorse in terms of prize money.

Champion jockeys

These high standards will continue to be met and raised by the exceptional people who put their passion into racing.

Read more
Champion jockeys

These high standards will continue to be met and raised by the exceptional people who put their passion into racing.

Besides developing its own champions such as Vincent Ho, Hong Kong has attracted a high number of elite international jockeys to its tracks. Other names recognised instantly by racegoers include Basil Marcus, Douglas Whyte, Zac Purton, and João Moreira. While celebrating their wins, fans have immensely enjoyed following their journeys and the dramas of their rivalries, and during the 2022/23 Racing Season were enthralled by Purton’s new record number of career wins in Hong Kong.

Then there are the homegrown iconic jockeys turned champion trainers such as Tony Cruz, Ricky Yiu, Francis Lui and Frankie Lor, with Cruz's namesake annual award representing the very best in local riding excellence. In addition to other household names such as Danny Shum and Pierre Ng, these top trainers are cultivating the next crop of racing winners.

Hong Kong draws the best riders, and in turn the best riders make Hong Kong a draw for racing fans around the world.

Solidifying global racing leadership

The Club's Chief Executive Officer, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges is Chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) , the global leader of the sport of thoroughbred racing, and Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF), which comprises 29 national racing authorities and racing-related organisations from across Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

Read more
Solidifying global racing leadership

The Club's Chief Executive Officer, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges is Chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the global leader of the sport of thoroughbred racing, and Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF), which comprises 29 national racing authorities and racing-related organisations from across Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

The Club's ongoing contributions and commitment to ARF and IFHA help develop international harmonisation among racing organisations, promoting good regulation and best practice internationally.

A blueprint for trust

The Hong Kong administrative structure for racing is one of the most enviable in the world.

Read more
A blueprint for trust

The Hong Kong administrative structure for racing is one of the most enviable in the world.

The Club's expert Stipendiary Stewards, supported by its unique betting integrity analysis capability and expert regulatory veterinarians, ensure the strongest possible controls are implemented for competitive and safe racing. The Stewarding panel closely monitors each race for potential breaches of the Rules of Racing, aided by state-of-the-art technology.

To maintain confidence in the sport, upholding the integrity of racing is paramount. Strict protocols have been developed over the years to ensure that horses are protected from practices that may cause them harm and to promote the highest standards in equine welfare. These protocols are enforced by an independent team of regulatory vets.

The Racing Laboratory, one of the six Reference Laboratories appointed by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, conducts pre-race, post-race and in-training testing of blood, urine and hair samples to check for the presence of prohibited substances in horses or jockeys.

The Racing Laboratory is internationally recognised for the quality of its work and has never reported a "false positive" finding in official samples since its establishment in 1970. Hong Kong's post-race positive results are over ten times lower than the global average.

Bringing the joy of racing to the Mainland

Hong Kong's status as the hub for top-tier racing in the Greater Bay Area will only increase as it continues to expand.

Read more
Bringing the joy of racing to the Mainland

Hong Kong's status as the hub for top-tier racing in the Greater Bay Area will only increase as it continues to expand.

The Club supported the equestrian events of not only the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which were held in Hong Kong, but also the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

In 2018, the Club opened its Conghua Racecourse (CRC), the Mainland's first international standard racecourse. The CRC's state-of-the-art stables and rest paddocks provide an unparalleled environment for our horses. World-class veterinary and therapeutic resources are available to ensure optimal care.

From Season 2025/26 onwards, there will be regular race meetings rostered in Conghua, which will establish a triangle of racing with Sha Tin and Happy Valley Racecourses.

Caring for our equine friends

The Club maintains an unwavering commitment to the care of its horses and to developing protocols that reduce risks to their welfare. These improvements depend on new knowledge gained from high-quality scientific study, providing the drive to establish the HKJC Equine Welfare Research Foundation in 2020.

Read more
Caring for our equine friends

The Club maintains an unwavering commitment to the care of its horses and to developing protocols that reduce risks to their welfare. These improvements depend on new knowledge gained from high-quality scientific study, providing the drive to establish the HKJC Equine Welfare Research Foundation in 2020.

Following a donation of HK$600 million by the Club, the Foundation is able to encourage and fund scientific research by teams around the world into issues that impact the quality of life of thoroughbred racehorses, both while in training and in retirement.

The Foundation has so far awarded HK$28 million to researchers studying topics ranging from how to reduce the risk of fractures to methods of determining what makes horses happy.

Beyond racing careers

The Club's retired horse programme has been in operation since 1964 when Beas River Equestrian Centre (BREC) was established as a home for retired horses. This has expanded under the RESTART Programme to include the retired horse unit in Conghua Racecourse, in addition to the already established Retraining Unit at BREC.

Read more
Beyond racing careers

The Club's retired horse programme has been in operation since 1964 when Beas River Equestrian Centre (BREC) was established as a home for retired horses. This has expanded under the RESTART Programme to include the retired horse unit in Conghua Racecourse, in addition to the already established Retraining Unit at BREC.

RESTART is developing relationships with overseas racing jurisdictions and aftercare providers to establish clear communication channels for tracking and tracing retired racehorses and provide a network of facilities to transition horses to second careers or retirement. The Club is also able to action an Emergency Welfare Protocol for horses requiring assistance with the aid of local governing bodies and jurisdictions.

The Club was the first racing jurisdiction to require owners to commit a sum of money to a horse's retirement prior to importing the horse into Hong Kong to race.

What this means for Hong Kong

If there is a lesson to be taken from Hong Kong's claim to racing excellence, it is the power of community — one that was sparked by those 34 enthusiasts back in 1884. Today the power of community and togetherness has grown by an immeasurable amount, with bonds strengthening between the Club and its members, as well as between the Club and the city of Hong Kong.

Read more
What this means for Hong Kong

If there is a lesson to be taken from Hong Kong's claim to racing excellence, it is the power of community — one that was sparked by those 34 enthusiasts back in 1884. Today the power of community and togetherness has grown by an immeasurable amount, with bonds strengthening between the Club and its members, as well as between the Club and the city of Hong Kong.

The Club operates a unique integrated business model that channels existing wagering demand for the good of the community, by combining top-tier racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, and responsible sports betting and lottery, as well as charitable initiatives and community engagement. This not-for-profit model encompasses these four interconnected sectors, all with the goal of benefitting the people of Hong Kong through ongoing donations and tax contributions.

As Hong Kong continues to thrive, so too will the Club's support of the city’s people through its charitable efforts and by providing joy and entertainment through pure racing excellence. It has done so for 140 years and will for many more.