Last Wednesday we welcomed the Hong Kong Football Team to Happy Valley Racecourse for our special Salute the Legends ceremony, and I was pleased to see what a rousing reception our racing fans gave the East Asian Games gold medallists. During the evening I gave them a tour of the racecourse and they were all very impressed with the set-up and facilities. They enjoyed the racing a lot, too.
Over the years, our Club has had a strong commitment to sports development in Hong Kong – for example we supported the establishment of the Hong Kong Sports Institute in the early 1980s and funded the rebuilding of Hong Kong Stadium a decade later. We also created, and still operate, Hong Kong's only public golf course at Kau Sai Chau. And, as I'm sure you know, we provided the venues and facilities for the equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, which were held in Hong Kong, and continue to sponsor the HKJC Equestrian Team.
After the HK Football Team's wonderful result in the East Asian Games, there has been a lot of discussion about how the momentum can be maintained, and some of you may be wondering whether the Club will now give more assistance to local football development. The broad answer is yes, we would like to contribute more to local football in the long run, as football - like horse racing - is one of Hong Kong's most popular spectator sports.
Currently, however, the Government is reviewing its football development policy and it hopes to complete its report next year. We feel that will be the right time for further discussions on how we can support local football, so as to ensure that the resources can be used effectively. Once the Government has established a clear policy and clear goals for football development, and a suitable management structure is in place to execute those plans, we would seriously consider offering our support.
Besides supporting local sport, we are also giving a lot of attention now to initiatives that can enhance the environment. In this respect, we think it's important to set a good example ourselves, so we've implemented a lot of green measures in our operations over the past few years, such as energy saving ideas and waste recycling programmes at our offices and racecourses, and we also encourage our Club staff to be more environmentally friendly in their daily lives. Last week we were very honoured to be named by the Environmental Protection Department as a "Carbon Audit - Green Partner", having committed to sign their Carbon Reduction Charter and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We also launched series of green projects a few months ago to mark the Club's 125th anniversary, including a tree planting programme. Last Thursday I had the pleasure of planting the last of 125 new trees at Club premises as part of this campaign. 
Our colleagues have given strong support to this green campaign, donating over 1,000 items for a recycling bazaar that we held at our Staff Christmas Carnival last Friday. We hope these activities can enhance our employees' awareness of carbon emission reduction and contribute to the long-term sustainability of our environment. If everyone in Hong Kong can make an effort to be more green, however small, it can make a real difference when all added together.
Our colleagues have given strong support to this green campaign, donating over 1,000 items for a recycling bazaar that we held at our Staff Christmas Carnival last Friday. We hope these activities can enhance our employees' awareness of carbon emission reduction and contribute to the long-term sustainability of our environment. If everyone in Hong Kong can make an effort to be more green, however small, it can make a real difference when all added together.We should treasure the "green lungs" of our city - which, incidentally, include Happy Valley and Sha Tin Racecourses, as besides our racing facilities, both these venues include public areas where there are some nice green and healthy facilities for you to enjoy, such as the football pitches and jogging track at Happy Valley and Penfold Park at Sha Tin.
Tonight, though, the main action at Happy Valley will be on the racetrack. Among the eight races on the card, I will be watching the performance of Young Label in the Blue Pool Handicap. This Racing Club's runner had an encouraging run in his season debut last month, as he snatched a runner-up finish in a 1000m race at Happy Valley. With apprentice Keith Yeung on board and competing in the same distance and course tonight, I will keep my fingers crossed, hoping he can bring some joy to our Racing Club members.
In the Happy Valley Trophy, I think Ultra Fantasy has a good chance to capture this trophy race as he's performed quite well in both Sha Tin and Happy Valley this season. Let's see if this horse can bring another winner to departing jockey James Winks. Both Vital Flyer and Perfect Style also showed nice progress this season, and I think they have the capabilities to challenge Ultra Fantasy for the honour.
In the Shan Kwong Handicap, the improving Fortune Red Pepper had his first place finish in his last appearance on the all-weather track. With his trainer Manfred Man in form, he should be the horse to beat in this race. The ever-consistent runner Sapelli, and veteran performer Luminous, are the other main rivals in this very competitive event.
While I hope all of you will be entertained by our races at Happy Valley tonight - the last night race meeting in 2009 - may I also take this opportunity to wish you all a great time with your families and loved ones in the festivities to come. Frohe Weihnachten!!Comment
