Racing director Bill Nader has issued a plea to reshape simulcast rules, with the Jockey Club forced to apply to move its March 27 race day into a head-on clash with finals day at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.
'We see ourselves as a sport and try to co-exist with other sporting events,' Nader (pictured) said yesterday. 'There probably aren't too many of them over a year which are in our league, but the Sevens is one.
'It isn't ideal, but we've applied to move the races to March 28, the day of the Sevens finals. I don't think it would impact on our day - if anything, Sundays are better turnover days for us anyway - but it won't be good for the rugby and we would prefer to work in with that event.'
It would not be the first clash, as the Jockey Club raced on Sevens finals day two years ago.
Nader said the club had been backed into a corner over the Sevens weekend due to the time slot for simulcasting races from the Dubai World Cup meeting, which will have multiple Hong Kong runners, on the night of March 27 and the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in Japan, featuring champion sprinter Sacred Kingdom, on the following afternoon.
The problem has grown out of complicated rules that split overseas simulcasts into two categories - raceday and non-raceday - when the government approved an extra 15 simulcast days last year.
Previously, the club was permitted to operate betting on 10 overseas races per season, but they had to coincide with local race days. Approval was granted last year for a further 15 non-raceday simulcasts per season, which can involve multiple races, but the restriction of 10 overseas races on a racing day remains.
