Since the day it was announced that Hong Kong would co-host the Beijing Olympic equestrian events, I've been eagerly looking forward to this unique opportunity of seeing an Olympic event on home turf, and I'm sure you have, too. Over the past year, I believe Hong Kong people have also come to learn a lot about the basics of equestrian sport.
The Club has been deeply involved in providing the venues and facilities for these events, and is honoured to have designated by the Beijing Organising Committee as "Outstanding Contributor, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Equestrian Events".
In the past months, we have injected lots of resources in assisting the Home Affairs Bureau and Equestrian Committee to organise a series of Olympic-related programmes and activities, so as to promote this once-in-a-lifetime event to our community. Apart from the 2,000 Club staff who are currently working for the Olympics project, the total amount of investment we have made on the equestrian front has been boosted from $800 million to $1.2 billion. But still, all of us in the Club believe it's worthwhile to make this massive contribution to such a historical moment for Hong Kong.
The efforts we put in it providing top-class equestrian facilities for this prestigious occasion has again proven to be positively received as Macau-based trainer Geoff Allendorf, who has two runners Let Go and Continued Success engaged in today's Hong Kong Macau Trophy, commented our stable facilities at the Olympic equestrian venue as alike "a horses' five-star hotel" and the best horse facility he has ever seen.
With the Olympics now just five months away, the Club is working with the government and the District Councils to launch jointly the "Horses Across Hong Kong" campaign tomorrow. We have invited the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society to create designs for 18 life-sized horse statues, which will be placed in popular landmarks and scenic spots around the city - one in each of the 18 Districts of Hong Kong. Each unique design is intended to reflect elements of artistic creation, local community features and the Olympic spirit. I hope these horses can help further promote equestrian sport and the Olympic spirit to everyone in the local community, along with tourists visiting the city.
As well as collaborating with the District Councils on a number of youth and community projects like this, we work closely with a number of our counterparts in the region to develop the sport of horse racing ?our core business. This was why we inaugurated the Hong Kong Macau Trophy with the Macau Jockey Club in 2004.
The fifth edition of this interport racing event will be held at Sha Tin Racecourse today and I'm pleased to say it has steadily increased in popularity each year, thanks to the strong support given by trainers and horse owners in both Hong Kong and Macau.
With the concession of a 15-pound reduction for Macau-trained horses, there has not been a lot of difference between the abilities of Hong Kong and Macau runners in this race, and I am not expecting that to change this year. I will be looking out for Full Of Joy as he just won in the same distance at his last run and again earned a good draw in today's race. I'll also pay my attention to Northern Hero in Race 10 as though it was his first start in a Class 2 race, he will carry 16 pounds less than his last run. By enjoying this weight advantage in this 1,400-metre race, I hope he can offer an improved performance today.
By the way, the Club has also taken one of the very first moves in the industry in responding to the abolition of wine tax as announced in the government's budget last Wednesday. As a gesture of goodwill, we will lower the prices of selected duty-paid wines, at all Racecourse and Clubhouse venues, with effect from today. I hope you all will be very happy about this, and take the opportunity to enjoy some fine wine along with our exciting races.
While we have taken this active move in benefiting our customers, we are still bounded by the outdated simulcast race framework, making us unable to deliver the best betting service to our customers. With Red Ruler - our former Club Chairman Ronald Arculli's horse, taking part in the New Zealand Derby in Auckland this afternoon, we are again unable to simulcast this race to racing fans in Hong Kong as the existing framework limits the number of simulcast races every season to 10 only. This is the framework that we hope to change, and I'm hopeful in getting some progress in future.
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