With significant businesses and financial institutions around the world wobbling under the weight of the credit crisis, there is a palpable concern at Sports Road about the prospects of the Jockey Club's business this season.
In this climate, a fall is not only unreasonable but inevitable. Everyone, at any income level, will have concerns that make them more cautious with their disposable income and one area in particular is going to cost the club turnover money.
The club has assessed over the past few seasons that a growth area for betting has been with the owners. While they will typically be wealthy and successful business people who can well afford their flutter, they will also be the group among the club's customers who find themselves right in the eye of the storm as their businesses come under pressure from the most significant financial meltdown in generations.
So where is turnover currently? Well, at HK$8.836 billion after 11 meetings, it is down some HK$590 million year-on-year, or 6.25 per cent.
Mitigating that, due to the way the calendar fell, is the 2007-08 figure which included the Sha Tin Trophy meeting scheduled for this weekend and which was one of the club's billion-dollar days last term, so there should be some catch-up factor by this time next week.
On the brighter side, it is still up by HK$429 million at the same stage in the 2006-07 season. In terms of turnover per race, there had actually been one more race at this stage last season, so the drop is slightly ameliorated there too, with turnover running at HK$84.96 million per race against HK$89.76 million at this time last year.
The club will certainly have to dip into its funds to make up the government's HK$8 billion tax guarantee this season, and every couple of per cent that turnover drops over the full season is going to add hundreds of millions to that bill.