Innovative concept expected to be a hit with punters

Hong Kong punters are renowned for idolatry of their favourite jockeys, so the newest bet type on the local scene, the Jockey Challenge, seems tailor-made for them.

And indeed it is, with extensive market research by the Jockey Club strongly suggesting that the concept will be a winner.

The Jockey Challenge has broken with more than a century of tradition by becoming the first fixed-odds betting product on horse racing, with all other betting traditionally having been done through the pari-mutuel (tote).

The Jockey Challenge, a popular bet type in many foreign racing jurisdictions, only became part of the menu for racing players for the first time on Wednesday night at Happy Valley and tomorrow's Audemars Piguet Queen ElizabethII Cup meeting will be the second time the players can back their favourite rider. The 'challenge', in a nutshell, is to back the jockey who has the most success at a given race meeting. Unlike normal win-and-place betting, where the Jockey Club shows indicative odds and declares a final dividend minutes after the race, players can get a set, fixed price about their favourite jockey before the start of the meeting.

The club has been working on the Jockey Challenge for the past year and is confident that the new concept will fly with local punters.

The club has been setting unofficial Jockey Challenge markets all season, but now the new game has been approved and is off and running.

The Jockey Challenge offers a field of 12 (11 individual jockeys and a 12th category for 'Others'). Should any jockey other than the first-named 11 individuals win the challenge at a given meeting, the player backing number 12 ('Others') will have a winning ticket.