Outside In | How Hong Kong is bucking the trend of a horse racing downturn
- Innovation has allowed the Jockey Club to remain competitive and retain the glamour of the sport, despite three terrible pandemic years and the decline in horse racing betting globally
- If Financial Secretary Paul Chan wants to contradict Hong Kong’s naysayers and show our world-leading innovative capabilities, he could invite them to the races
Once known worldwide as the sport of kings, horse racing has seen rough times – except in Hong Kong perhaps, where Happy Valley still lives up to its name despite the adversities of the past three years.
In the United States, over 40 tracks have closed since 2000. From 83,000 in its heyday, races in North America have fallen to 37,700 in 2022. The Thoroughbred Daily News reported in November a 37 per cent fall in national races over the past 20 years, and a 40 per cent decrease in horses raced, with purses down 25 per cent.
The US has lost 55 per cent of its trainers, with just 114 “super trainers” (training 80 horses or more) capturing 41 per cent of winnings in 2022. Researchers say it is “hard to win, hard to profit and hard to compete”.
Even in the United Kingdom, where horse racing remains the second most-attended sport, attendance fell by over 500,000 between 2015 and 2019. The Racecourse Association says that from a peak of 6.13 million, attendance has fallen below 5 million in 2022. In many parts of the world, the fascination with horse racing has simply faded.