Ironically, Wong has more clout abroad than on home front
Last week's election of Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Lawrence Wong to the post of vice-chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) has any number of potential benefits for Hong Kong racing.
The IFHA is regarded as the peak body of world racing. Wong was already chairman of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF), whose 19 member countries boast 60 per cent of the world's thoroughbred racing wagering turnover, so no previous Hong Kong official has ever enjoyed this unprecedented level of global clout.
It's a great honour for Wong and an even greater one for Hong Kong racing. However, the job is bigger than any individual and the important question now is what Wong will do with his new-found power and influence?
It could be the turning point for the Good Neighbour Policy he has championed over the past year, giving Hong Kong and all those other 'good neighbours' an opportunity to do something constructive with the buckets of goodwill they've been generating at conferences as far apart as Auckland and Paris over the last eight months.
Wong, it has to be said, has always been driven by the bigger picture in both his Hong Kong role and his ARF chairmanship. Just last week, in accepting his IFHA vice-chairmanship, Wong said: 'I am honoured to take up this role at such an important time for racing and for the communities it supports. 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. I am proud that Hong Kong racing has been recognised in this way.'
His words clearly illustrate both where he's coming from, and where he's heading. The sport of horse racing, the welfare of the communities it supports, servicing racing's customers and improving the international profile of Hong Kong racing - these are the issues on which Wong is focused.
It's also significant that Wong, and by logical extension the Hong Kong Jockey Club, now have more influence abroad than they do at home, where the Hong Kong government has shown it can introduce wagering taxation increases - as it did earlier this year - without consulting the Jockey Club.