As one of the major enterprises in Hong Kong, the Jockey Club has long advocated the importance of corporate responsibility. One area in which we have actively been working to take up a leading role in recent years is that of promoting a green culture in local society, especially among the Club’s 26,000-strong workforce. We hope that by doing so we can enhance their awareness of the importance of sustainability and the conservation of our environment, and in turn promote “green living” to their families and friends.
One of the very first Club-supported community campaigns in 2013 is related to green culture, as we announced earlier this week our latest collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong – the launching of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia programme. This five-year campaign, supported with a HK$54 million donation from the Club’s Charities Trust, will see the university organise environmental conferences, public forums and educational fairs, and disseminate the research results to the government and green messages to the wider community.
I’m pleased that a Museum of Climate Change, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, will also be set up inside CUHK’s campus. This will display various exhibits among them the work of renowned local explorer Dr Rebecca Lee, including her photos and discoveries from the North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest; environment, energy and sustainability-related research results produced by the university; and the contribution made by the Charities Trust to environmental protection in recent years. I think it’s great that these exhibits will provide visitors with further insight, and in many cases brand new experiences, that will educate about the environment and in particular the close link between the environments at the Poles and the climatic change of our planet.
The sustainability of our environment is reliant on everybody’s efforts, and those efforts begin with each individual. Likewise, in the Club each of our team members has played their part in revitalising local racing, an effort that will ensure the sustainability of our racing industry in Hong Kong. With our investments amounting in billions of dollars in recent years, we feel upbeat and encouraged by the continuing revival in both racing betting turnover and attendance in recent seasons.
We are gladdened by your overwhelming support at our very first race meeting in 2013. The New Year’s Day meeting saw more than 60,000 people attending the racecourses to enjoy some quality and exciting racing, and the turnover surpassed HK$1.3 billion – the highest New Year’s Day figure since 1998.
Although we achieved these pleasant results at the start of the year, we would not forget the strong challenges and competition posed by other gaming entertainment operators, especially from those in the region. Recent reports tell us that gaming revenue in Macau last year rose by 13.5 percent to over 300 billion patacas. This is a huge amount, and it reminded us of how important it is that the sport here in Hong Kong is of such a quality that we can provide even better racing products and services to our customers; and that we must maintain our high competitiveness in the coming year.
Tomorrow’s race meeting at Sha Tin is just a regular weekend fixture, however, I’m sure our Club team will be as dedicated as ever in serving our customers both on and off the racecourse. We hope the bullish trend we witnessed on New Year’s Day will carry on. Among the 10 races on the card, I will pay special attention to The Victoria Racing Club Trophy, a Class 2 event over the straight 1000m with an extended rating band of 105 to 80, and in which the pace is expected to be good. The race sees the return of one of the most exciting horses we have in Hong Kong, Amber Sky, who will race again after a two-month break! Amber Sky has been working very well and is drawn ideally in gate 13 closest to the outside rail, which is an advantage, and he will be very very difficult to beat. His main opponents are for me Rich Tapestry, Good Boy Boy, Straight Gold and Go Baby Go but I see them more as place chances! Straight Gold should have improved since his first start after a leg injury and is drawn in gate 9, which gives him a chance to be well positioned. Rich Tapestry has been in good form and is well-drawn in gate 8 but has not raced over the 1000m straight course. Good Boy Boy is an interesting candidate with the 10-pound claim, even though gate 3 is a handicap. Go Baby Go is a real straight course specialist with 4 wins and he showed enough in his most recent race to suggest he can run well. I expect a better showing from him and I think he is a good place chance.
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