In its highest single-day turnover since the handover, the Hong Kong Jockey club finished its season with earnings reaching HK$141.1 billion ($18.06 billion), making HK$2.06 billion ($2.64 million) during yesterday’s meet, despite typhoon Talim.
With the club still facing tough times economically, made harder by the pandemic, club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges described the turnover as “outstanding.”
Engelbrecht-Bresges told The Standard that, “Hong Kong was able to maintain races amid the three years of the pandemic because of its strong resilience. We can seize all kinds of opportunities including the border reopening to further improve and develop horse racing in Hong Kong due to our can-do spirit,” he said.
The club has backup plans to deal with serious weather conditions and fully assessed and monitored yesterday’s conditions based on observatory information, it noted.
“We have a contingency plan in place to respond quickly to any official advance warning of a higher typhoon signal and will make a decision at an appropriate time,” the club said.
One punter told The Standard that he would have attended the races for many years even in strong winds.
“The weather has been good so far. It doesn’t matter if it rains a bit, maybe it’s a sign of good luck,” he said.
