The Hong Kong Jockey Club has partnered with digital media brand World Horse Racing, the latter announced on Wednesday. The fifth partner of World Horse Racing alongside Ascot, Breeders’ Cup, Goodwood and the Victoria Racing Club, the Hong Kong Jockey Club reflects the growth of World Horse Racing, which has monthly views in excess of 12 million and over 1.85 million combined followers. There are 12 Group 1 races and two festivals that the HKJC brings to the table.
“The vision of HKJC is always on world class racing, something we advocated at the 2018 Asian Racing Conference and we feel is an important initiative to broaden the fan base regionally and globally,” said HKJC Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “We join a strong group of partners which are aligned on positioning racing as a global brand to develop our future growth, health and success as a world-class sport.”
Added Tim Bulley, Chairman of World Horse Racing, “By taking a new and innovative approach to racing story telling World Horse Racing is growing a new global audience at scale and energising those already in love with the sport. The welcome addition of the Hong Kong Jockey Club brings World Horse Racing incredible access and storytelling opportunities across the world’s most elite and extraordinary racing festivals and a huge, dynamic footprint in Asia.”
The 2020 Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Derby Awards will be staged on Sky Sports Racing, the HWPA announced on Tuesday. Slated for Dec. 10, the awards programme, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, will be hosted by Martin Kelly. Normally, the awards are held in London in front of 600 guests, but that is not possible due to COVID-19.
“We are extremely grateful to Sky Sports Racing for agreeing to host the 2020 Derby Awards, and to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for their continued support,” said HWPA President Marcus Townend. “It has been a difficult year for racing but we felt it was important that the Derby Awards were still staged in some way so that we could recognise the achievements of the participants and those in the media who broadcast, report and photograph the sport.”
It's no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has proven disruptive and dangerous to the business and sport of horse racing, but some international authorities say some good things have emerged from this unprecedented time.
In the first digital presentation released Monday as part of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) annual conference, a panel of racetrack officials and racing authorities gathered to talk about the challenges and lessons from the pandemic so far. This year's 54th international conference is being conducted virtually for the first time, with conference materials being released gradually over the next two weeks. This year's focus will be on COVID-19 and its impacts on racing. In most years, the IFHA conference is held on the day after the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at the France Galop offices in Paris.
Readers are familiar with the challenges faced by American racetracks starting in March and April, as some had to shut down, close to fans, or delay major races. In other countries, cross-border travel restrictions caused significant headaches even when racing resumed.
Andrew Harding, executive director of racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said that organization was particularly taxed, as racing in Hong Kong relies much more heavily on horse movement than in other countries. It's also a lot more concentrated population of participants, with a much smaller pool of jockeys, stewards and trainers licensed to keep horses running, so Harding and his colleagues knew they had to be as strict as possible with biosecurity measures.
“If one of [the stewards] were to become infected, in normal circumstances they'd all be sitting in the same room together. In one fell swoop, we'd lose all our stewards,” he said, pointing out that would be the end of racing while officials were quarantined.
Hong Kong jockeys were divided into four clusters and had their jockeys' quarters separated to keep riders in bubbles. Stewards were also given separate rooms to minimize the risk of disease spread. Additionally, licensees were required to provide Hong Kong racing officials with a daily log of their temperatures. Jockeys were required to provide officials with an activity schedule so they could be advised what their potential risk for exposure might be, and to provide a guide for contract tracing should a COVID-19 positive occur.
In the United States, many racing fans have become frustrated by what seems like an uneven application of government regulations to different businesses. For a period of time this spring, Santa Anita Park was closed to fans and required jockeys to live on-site to reduce exposure, while crowds of people poured into the Los Angeles County Arboretum across the street. William Derby, chief executive and clerk of course at York Racecourse, told panelists the same is true in England, where he's aware of nearby bars and pubs beginning to bustle while fans are still not permitted at the track. In fact, York had to erect 3.5 kilometers of fencing to keep people away from the racecourse despite it being on public land. Still, Derby pointed out, local and national governments are overwhelmed, dealing with basic safety questions for hospitals and schools, and patience is key.
“Sport takes its place in the queue, despite the fact [racing] is a very important employer; 18,000 jobs in the UK rely on it,” he said.
Still, some good things have come out of the pandemic. Stephen Cook, director of content for IMG Productions, said that as soon as racing fans were barred from coming to the track, his team had to think of ways to recreate the experience for them remotely — including filming horses whenever possible in their stable yards and in workouts to create a sense of familiarity before they headed to the track.
“It's helped us jump probably a couple of years ahead on something we'd be behind on if this hadn't happened,” said Cook.
Of course, racing was one of very few live sports that was able to carry on or return quickly after initial shutdowns in the spring. Olivier Delloye, CEO of France Galop, said that after racing resumed in France, it took just five weeks for handle to regain its 2019 averages. From early June until now, wagering has consistently been up 10 to 20 percent over last year.
“We didn't expect that,” Delloye said. “We were all worried that even if the betting shops would reopen, even if people were opening new digital accounts, people would think of many other things than going to bet on horse racing.”
The panelists are certainly not seeing a cloudless sky ahead, however. Delloye and Derby both worry tremendously about ownership retention, as owners have been hit particularly hard in the wallets by the spring shutdowns. For Cook, questions remain about whether racing will be able to capitalize on its time in the spotlight and turn temporary interest into long-term loyalty once the virus is controlled and other sports return. In the more near term, Harding worries about how many racing authorities can outlast the ongoing disruptions COVID-19 is causing.
'”As hard as it's been in the UK and France, there are some countries where they haven't been able to operate in a manner that's profitable,” he said. “How long that's sustainable is troubling to me. That will have an impact globally.”
Hong Kong has no breeding program of its own, so potential future impacts of the current economic downturn on the international foal crop is another long-term concern.
All in all, Keeneland president-elect Shannon Arvin said she looks to the future with a mixture of realism and optimism, uncertain of what comes next, but hopeful racing's new lessons will carry it through.
“We don't know how long this will last,” she said. “Somebody asked me this morning, 'Will we have fans back in April?' I don't know the answer to that.
“I think there are definitely silver linings to the pandemic, and I think we need to keep looking for them. I think the perseverance that so many in our industry have shown and that resiliency is shining through ad showing us the silver linings. Winston Churchill said, 'Never let a good crisis go to waste.' I think about how the Keeneland sales actually started, which is during World War II, because we weren't able to ship horses up to New York so we started our own sale. Now of course, that's such a critical part of our business as well as a key piece of the industry and the marketplace. I'm excited to see what innovations come of this.”
Joao Moreira enjoyed one of his most prolific days in the saddle on Sunday at Sha Tin with a six-timer, and he heads to Wednesday's (23 September) eight-race program at Happy Valley looking to continue his red-hot form with a full book of mounts, including Beauty Applause (120lb) in the feature, the Class 2 Big Wave Bay Handicap.
“It was a day I'll never forget!” Moreira said. “I needed a good day like that badly, as I needed to build up my confidence for myself and of course the relationships with the trainers.”
The Brazilian ace has had a flying start to the 2020/21 season with 14 wins from five race meetings and he leads by six in the jockeys' premiership, with Zac Purton and Karis Teetan locked on eight wins.
“I knew I was going to have a good start to the season but six winners in a day at the beginning is always a big plus and hopefully we can keep on kicking winners,” he said.
Moreira's book of midweek mounts is highlighted by his renewed association with the John Size-trained Beauty Applause in the finale, a hot sprint which features 11 others and in which the flashy chestnut will make his city circuit debut.
“It's his first time at the track, so no one knows but he's the kind of horse who indicates that Happy Valley won't be a problem,” Moreira said.
The 5-year-old is a four-time winner over 1200m (about six furlongs), and, since his debut, he has added 35 rating points to his mark (87).
“The races aren't as strong as they are at Sha Tin, so the competition won't be as strong as he has previously faced,” Moreira observed. “His last run over 1400 metres (about seven furlongs), he fatigued over the last 200 metres so the drop back in distance, I think, is going to suit him even better.”
A usual on-pace runner, the Size-trainee will need to contend with gate 10 in the field of 12.
“Two starts ago he didn't jump the best at Sha Tin and he ended up in behind, but he finished off the race very well, so I think we have options with him,” Moreira said.
Wednesday's hot sprint also features last season's Most Improved Horse, the Jimmy Ting-trained Amazing Star (133lb), as well as Waldorf (133lb), Massive Pocket (121lb), California Rad (119lb) and Golden Dash (116lb).
Beauty Applause is not the only Kwok family-owned horse that Moreira will team with on Wednesday evening, the 36-year-old is also set to ride last-start victor Beauty Angel in the Class 4 South Bay Handicap.
“He won his race at Sha Tin where I would say the fields are a little bit stronger, so he just needs to produce what he did at his last start to be a good strong chance at Happy Valley,” the ace rider said.
The Hong Kong International Sale graduate broke through at his 10th and final start of last season and Moreira indicated that he could continue his ascent up the handicap.
“He should improve – last start he showed me he has good character and he does things straightforwardly, so I don't see why he can't take another step forward. I think he'll get into Class 3 in the near future,” Moreira said.
