New Hong Kong Racing Microsite

Irishracing.com is pleased to announce that Hong Kong racing will now be featured on the website for the upcoming season which begins on Sunday September 3rd.

We have built a dedicated section for Hong Kong racing see here complete with all the latest news, fixtures, race cards, archived results and statistics and a whole lot more.

On a race-to-race basis, it is hard to conceive of a more competitive racing environment anywhere in the world. The 1,200 or so horses in the Hong Kong system are divided between 24 trainers at present at Sha Tin with a maximum of 60 horses allowed per stable.

It is all Flat racing. Full fields are always coveted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) to generate maximum turnover on their Tote with fields of 14 sanctioned for Sha Tin and 12 for the tighter Happy Valley circuit. Only these two tracks are used. Sha Tin is usually for weekend programmes starting at around 1pm local time (5am in Ireland in winter, 6am in summer) whereas Happy Valley is most often the venue for midweek cards starting at 7.15pm (11.15am in winter, 12.15pm summertime in Ireland).

Sha Tin also hosts a dirt track, similar to American dirt surfaces, and around 10 per cent of HK’s races take place on this course. The vast majority of morning trackwork is conducted on the dirt also. The Sha Tin turf course is a galloping track of 1m1f circumference with a home straight in excess of two furlongs. Happy Valley is a fraction over seven furlongs in circumference with the home straight of about a furlong-and-a-half.

Track bias is always something that has to be monitored. For example, a rain-affected track on the dirt tends to favour front-runners. On the turf tracks, there four are different configurations used each meeting whereby the rail is pushed further out from the inside to allow the churned grass to be reseeded and regenerate.

In terms of average distance, most of the races staged are for sprinters and milers. Horses from Australia and New Zealand make up the majority of the Hong Kong racing population although a sizeable pool of Irish-bred and formerly Irish-trained horses, comprise about 15 per cent of the population and regularly punch above their weight. Champions of recent times in Hong Kong that have hailed from Ireland include Designs On Rome (IRE), Peniaphobia (IRE), Gold-Fun (IRE), Lucky Nine (IRE), Military Attack (IRE) and Rich Tapestry (IRE).

Tote betting on Hong Kong racing is world-renowned with massive pools and you can currently bet into Win, Show and Trifecta (Tierce) pools with Tote Ireland and more bet types to expected to be added during the season.

Hong Kong boasts the biggest per-race betting turnover in the world. Turnover per race among the various pools on offer typically reaches a figure in the region of €20 million.

The key fixture of the Hong Kong racing calendar, which starts from early September and ends in mid-July is the Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) meeting in December. The day consists of four International Group 1 races with distances ranging from 1200 to 2400 metres, with the 2000-metre Longines Hong Kong Cup topping the prize money chart of HK$25 million (over €2,700,000). This meeting attracts many top runners from all around the world. Group 1 races run through every month from December to late May in Hong Kong and these races also make up Hong Kong Triple Crown, Hong Kong Speed Series, 4-year-old Classic Series and Global Sprint Challenge.

Over 98 per cent of the races staged in Hong Kong are handicaps. This ranges from those in the lowest grade, Class 5 rated 40 and below to Class 4 rated 40—60, Class 3 spreading from 60 to 80, Class 2 from 80 to 100 and Class 1 from a mark of 100 upwards. As such, the maximum spread in handicaps is usually 20lbs, ranging from 133lbs (9st7lbs) to 113lbs (8st1lb).

Not surprisingly, considering the lavish amounts bet on these races, the prize-money in HK is very generous with the lowest grade winners’ purse weighing in at over €40,000.

Another thing to note is how tightly they race. Riders’ position in during the race is crucial, so missing the start and being caught wide and without cover is very much frowned upon given how little there often is between horses in terms of ability and how accurate their handicap marks often are.

The racing is very well organised, very competitive and can offer Irish punters a compelling alternative to the norm.

So check out irishracing.com/hong-kong where you can do all your study and analysis in advance of the races.

Live broadcasts from Hong Kong can be viewed on both ATR and RUK.