Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Lawrence Wong has been elected vice-chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) at its annual executive council meeting in Paris.
Wong now becomes one of the most influential men in the thoroughbred world as he is also chairman of the Asian Racing Federation.
Wong, who was in Paris on Tuesday to accept the appointment, said: 'This is a great honour for Hong Kong, reflecting our hard work to improve the quality of our racing and customer focus and so raise our international profile.'
Jockey Club director of racing Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said the IFHA had been impressed with the 'very significant achievements' that have taken place in Hong Kong over the past few years.
'For example, our customers bet $16.5 million on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris last Sunday, and this represented 60 per cent of the world's betting turnover on the race, outside of France,' Engelbrecht-Bresges pointed out.
'We have promoted the race strongly for a number of reasons, partly as a service to our customers and partly because it helps create an awareness of overseas racing that can only benefit our own International races in December.'