When Archie da Silva sounds a caution in the area of buying horses, the casual investor would be wise to listen. 'People who go into it, go into it for the love of it, rather than the profit,' says da Silva, who owns Hong Kong's most successful horse, Silent Witness. 'It is rather difficult to make any money from it.'
But although da Silva does not think the margins are good, the pursuit is hugely popular in Hong Kong. There is no horse breeding here, so all horses must be imported. Last month 1,065 applicants competed for a horse import permit for 2012-13. But only a lucky 340 were selected in a random lottery overseen by the Jockey Club.
The tight regulation by the club makes the horse-racing scene in Hong Kong unlike that anywhere else in the world. Elsewhere, all you have to do is turn up at an auction with money in your pocket, buy your horse and take it home. In other big horse-racing countries such as Australia and Ireland, it's common for groups of friends to chip in and form a syndicate to buy a horse.
But in Hong Kong, it is a select club. To be a racehorse owner here, you must first be a member of the Jockey Club for at least 12 months.
To join as a racing member costs HK$68,000 with monthly fees of HK$420, and to become a full member costs HK$400,000 with monthly fees of HK$1,200. To get a chance to buy a horse, the Jockey Club also requires that you have HK$1 million in the bank.
So why are people so willing to pay high premiums and wait so long to get a piece of the action?
