Despite the continuing challenges posed by the pandemic, the non-profit horse racing and sports betting provider the Hong Kong Jockey Club reported record profits for the financial year 2021-2022 with an increase in turnover of 3% year-on-year.
Record-Breaking Turnover
The Hong Kong Jockey Club announced a whopping turnover of HKD 140 billion ($17.8 billion) for its fiscal year starting on July 1, 2021, and ending on June 30, 2022. This marked a boost of 3% compared to the previous financial year from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. The Hong Kong Jockey Club faced many difficulties during the financial period 2021-2022, including many of the horse races being executed without any audience due to pandemic restrictions. Still the non-profit managed to host 836 horse races domestically and broadcast another 281 horse races from overseas.
Betting duty on these races reached HKD 14.1 billion ($1.80 billion), which was 2.8% higher compared to the previous financial year. The total turnover was composed of turnover from local horse races amounting to HKD 129.9 billion ($16.5 billion) and turnover from the broadcast of international races of HKD 1.76 billion ($224 million). These numbers represent a 0.5% yearly increase in the income from local races and a 13% year-on-year growth in the income from international horse races.
According to the information shared by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the revenue from the horse racing season finale, which was held on July 16, amounted to HKD 2.04 billion ($260 million).
The Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Extremely Proud of the Achieved Results
The Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has expressed his gratitude for the trust and collaboration with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, which, despite the pandemic restrictions, allowed the Hong Kong Jockey Club to continue operating and complete yet another season of horse racing of the highest standard.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO thanked all parties involved for the sacrifices they made and for the good collaborative effort, allowing the company to provide entertainment at home to all fans of horse racing during times with COVID restrictions and social distancing necessary in order to keep all Hong Kong residents safe. He said:
We are gratified once more by the collective discipline and togetherness of all participants – trainers, jockeys, owners, employees and customers – which has allowed us to continue showcasing Hong Kong’s most popular sport to the world.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges
Engelbrecht-Bresges has also expressed his hope that horse racing will soon be able to return to normality with horse races again being held with full-packed venues.