World-class Races

In racing terms, Hong Kong punches well above its weight. With little more than 800 races per year, Hong Kong is nonetheless home to 12 Group 1 races, all of which featured in the World’s Top 100 Group/Grade 1 Races for 2023.

The most prestigious Group 1s in Hong Kong are the Hong Kong Cup, Mile, Sprint and Vase, which are all held on a single day each December — the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR). Widely recognised as the Turf World Championships, the HKIR attracts horses from across the globe to compete for some of the most attractive prize money in racing. They are the culmination of a week-long festival of racing, which includes the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship, now one of the top jockeys’ contests in the world.

A second international race day, FWD Champions Day, brings together three of Hong Kong’s top spring races – the FWD QEII Cup, FWD Champions Mile and Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

The quality of Hong Kong racing is such that it has a growing international fan base. Hong Kong race meetings are now broadcast around the world, while commingling enables overseas fans to bet on Hong Kong races via the Club’s overseas partners. The Club now has more than 70 commingling partners in 26 countries and jurisdictions, with commingling responsible for 23.7% of the Club’s local racing wagering turnover in 2023/24.

Through the World Pool the Club has now become a global hub for commingling on some of the world’s top racedays. In 2023/24, thanks to the expansion of simulcasting, the number of World Pool races increased from 175 to 258, with turnover up 57%.