Young people represent the hope and future of our society, so it's only natural that among the various charitable and community projects supported by the Club’s Charities Trust, those related to youth development have always been high on our agenda. Over the past decade alone, we've invested more than HK$2 billion in youth-related projects in Hong Kong, which I think really speaks for itself as regards our determination and enthusiasm for nurturing the next generation.
One of our most notable projects in this field is “P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme”, which in fact was initiated proactively by the Club in 2005 after discussions with Government departments, academic institutions, social workers and other community partners, and has since become a big success. P.A.T.H.S. is aimed at helping local junior secondary students face the many personal challenges they encounter on the road to adolescence and develop a positive life attitude.
In the seven years since P.A.T.H.S. was launched with a HK$750 million Trust donation, more than 200,000 students at some 280 mainstream and special schools citywide have benefited, while over 7,000 teachers and social workers have received training on its modules. Research shows that it has had a measurably positive impact on participants, especially in curbing problematic youth behaviour such as the lure of drugs. The project has earned international recognition from world-respected publications like The Scientific World Journal and The Lancet, while Shanghai, Singapore and Macau are now setting up similar pilot projects.
Up to now, P.A.T.H.S. has been a solely school-based project, but I'm pleased to tell you that we've now decided to extend it to the wider community for a three-year period starting in 2013. In collaboration with various non-governmental organisations, we plan to implement up to 70 community projects targeted at adolescents, benefiting a further 84,000 students in the next three years.
We hope that by extending the service base and giving the project wider coverage, we can reach out to more young people who need guidance in their personal development, and respond more effectively to youth issues that are of concern to the local community. If the new phase of the project can achieve the same or ever greater impact on building positive attitudes among our young generation, the Trust's donations will certainly have been an excellent investment.
Of course it must never be forgotten that major community donations like these are only made possible by the continued success of Hong Kong's horse racing operations. For this reason, it's definitely pleasing to have seen our racing turnover surpass the HK$1.2 billion mark for two consecutive weekend meetings. This has allowed us to retain about HK$50 million at each meeting for charitable purposes and operational expenses, while contributing about HK$150 million to the public coffers in betting duties each time.
I hope this positive trend will continue with the second of our "Holiday Smiles Come to the Valley" themed party meetings at Happy Valley tonight, when there will be lots of fun contests and festive food on the agenda as well as eight great races. On the track, the Happy Valley Trophy is the top race of today’s meeting, being run as a Class 1 with a rating band of 115 to 90 over 1200m. The race has attracted only nine starters but is very competitive.
The expected good pace should give every horse a fair chance, but the C Course we are running on today tends to favour horses in the front of the field. Arrived Ahead comes back to the Valley after being disappointing in his runs at Sha Tin. He should take the lead together with Go Baby Go. London China Town should get the box seat behind them, with Final Answer and Charles The Great in good position behind him. El Zonda who is in good form and is working very well has to come from the back of the field as is Talley Close. Charles The Great is working very well and was short of roomon the straight in his last start. He is for me the horse to beat! El Zonda is my second pick and has the ability to challenge Charles The Great. Final Answer and London China Town would be my next choices for a place.
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