Hello from Mumbai! Those of you who read my blog on Saturday will know that I’m currently attending the 36th Asian Racing Racing Conference, which brings together delegates from all 21 members of the Asian Racing Federation plus many other racing industry officials. We have had some very useful discussions and I look forward to sharing the results with you when I get back.
I know everyone has been shivering with the winter cold this week in Hong Kong, which makes it all the more important to take care of the more vulnerable members of our families like elderly parents and small children. In fact, the website of one of the Club’s projects – FAMILY: A Jockey Club Initiative for Harmonious Society – has lots of useful tips on ways to stay healthy. For example it lists 3-E exercises (Enjoyable, Easy and Effective) that are an ideal way to get the blood circulating and stay warm. Check out www.family.org.hk.
We are well into the heart of our sessions, which kick-started with the Indian Oaks race meeting on Sunday and was followed by bureau meetings on Monday, including the Asian Racing Federation Executive Committee session. I had the pleasure to open the conference’s first business session yesterday, discussing what is truly the backbone of our industry, the wagering landscape. As mentioned last week, the ARC is a fabulous opportunity to discuss ideas both big and small, and over the years has become the world’s foremost racing convocation.
Among the topics discussed on Wednesday is the nature of handicapping and race planning, and I thought it worthwhile to share some of my thoughts on the topic as it exists relative to Hong Kong. We have a very unique racing jurisdiction, and it is easy to forget that there are natural limitations on the number of races we can offer in our programme, knowing our horse population remains around 1,200 horses in Hong Kong.
The programme is focused on races between 1000 and 1800 metres, with a few extra contests over 2000 metres. We hold just three races at Sha Tin all season over 2,400 metres, all of which are pattern events, and two at the International Group 1 level. Personally, given my background, I love the longer races for the stayers division, and have had much success over the years breeding horses to run over these longer trips. But the composition of our horse population and climate is tailored to a strategy that focuses on “shorter” races.
Similarly, while some dirt stars have emerged at Sha Tin in the last few years, our natural space limitations do not permit a full range of races for these horses. Roughly ten percent of our races are contested on dirt, equating to between 70 and 80 races a season. A limited number of these are for Class 1 gallopers, and those are split between sprints and longer races. The natural limitations our operating environment presents require close attention to the overall programme so that we can offer our customers the most competitive product possible.
In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy your week and I look forward to being back in Hong Kong this weekend for a spectacular meeting on Sunday with the Stewards’ Cup, rated 16th in the World’s Top 100 Group 1 races and what will be a highly competitive Centenary Sprint Cup.
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