Hong Kong

[karlskorner]

I just read in the Hong Kong mail that the Jockey Club abandoned the last race at Happy Valley night before last, because the jockeys considered the condiions to be too dangerous. The point that shocked me was that the club had to return $123 million in wagers (thats $123 million) wagered on the last race. That's a "nightcap" race run during the week. I can't imagine what the "handle" for an entire card must be. Is there $ more or less than ours ?

Along with that it reported that 2 trainers where fined $30,000.each for breaching regulations regarding the training of bleeders. Not to many trainers in the USA could handle a $30,000 fine. Fines of that nature would make a lot of trainers to think twice.

Karl

[gillenr]

I'm sure that's not US$, but even if the exchange is 10 to 1, that's alot! But they are a gambling people - maybe more than Aussies.
Also, I don't think they race as often as we do.
I believe I've seen harsh penalties against jocks & bookies too.

[Triple Trio]

Note that the amounts quoted were in HK$, and that U$1 = HK$7.8

I am too lazy to look up the exact figures but I believe the turnover for the 2001 racing season was about HK$80 billion (US$10.26 billion). There were 667 races in the season, so the handle of each race was approx. US$15 million.

The main difference between Hong Kong and the US is that in HK there are very few races. The racing season runs from September to June following year. During the season, there are usually two meetings each week, typically Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon. Altogether, the are about seventy race days and less than 700 races in a season. Since so much money is concentrated in so few races, the average handle is therefore much higher than that in the US.

It is no coincidence that some of the most sophisticated computer teams have chosen to operate in HK. Because the pools are large, you can wager vast sums and still get decent odds for your bets. Some time last year, only seconds before the start of a race, someone placed a bet of approx. US$1 million on a horse to win. The win pay-out dropped from $25 (for each $10 stake) to $20.

As large as the handle in HK may seem, it is believed that illegal bookies actually have an even larger market share, though no one knows exactly how much larger.

Incidentally, the record annual turnover in HK was US$11.8 billion in 1997. The turnover has gone down in recent years because (1) the economic situation has worsened, and (2) a lot of money has gone into (illegal) soccer betting. What is happening in HK is what happened in the US years ago. Initially, horse racing was the only accepted form of gambling. As more sports events were available on TV, people began making small bets on these events. Then the bets gradually grew larger. Inevitably sports betting became legalized. Eventually fewer and fewer people cared about horse racing. At the moment, sports betting in HK is still illegal. However, it's just a matter of time that what happened in the US will happen here.