Following its Annual General Meeting (AGM) today (2 September), The Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) announced its results for the financial year ended 30 June 2026 (FY2025/26).
The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s 2025/26 Annual Report.
The Club faced many challenges during the year, above all in competing with the huge and growing illegal gambling market. The Club also had to manage the ongoing impact of Special Football Betting Duty of HK$2.4 billion per year and the unexpected pause by the HKSAR Government in granting a licence to provide regulated basketball betting, where the Club has invested substantially in preparation for the service’s planned launch in 2026.
Nevertheless, in support of its purpose – the betterment of society – the Club continued to generate substantial economic and social value for the community through its unique value creation model, which consists of four pillars: racing and racecourse entertainment; responsible sports wagering and lottery; membership; and charity and community contribution.
Overall, the Club achieved record wagering and lottery turnover of HK$331.7 billion during FY2025/26. This generated HK$29.3 billion in betting duty and profits tax, with the Club accounting for 6.4% of total taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department in the 2025/26 assessment year. In addition, the Club contributed HK$1.4 billion to the Lotteries Fund, while the Club’s Charities Trust approved HK$8.6 billion in donations. Altogether the Club contributed HK$39.3 billion to the community in FY2025/26.
The Club achieved these results during a year in which it launched a special Year of the Horse campaign to celebrate the unique bond between horses and humans and the contribution racing makes to Hong Kong. Campaign highlights to date include the spectacular Year of the Horse fireworks display which lit up Victoria Harbour on 18 February and was exclusively sponsored by the Club, together with the Year of the Horse Raceday at Sha Tin Racecourse the following day which drew 98,000 spectators including a single-day record of over 20,000 visitors from the Chinese Mainland and overseas. There will be more Year of the Horse-themed events in the coming months.
The Honourable Martin Liao, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “This year, perhaps more than any other, highlighted the strength of the Club’s racing and its enduring commitment to its purpose: the betterment of our society. The unprecedented success of our horses cemented Hong Kong’s position as one of the global leaders in horse racing, while also attracting record numbers of tourists to our racecourses. Meanwhile our licensed and regulated football betting service also achieved gratifying results. Above all despite a very difficult environment, including the ever-expanding threat of illegal gambling, the Club maintained its strong support for the community and for the charities that depend upon us.”
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “This year, also coinciding with the Year of the Horse, the Club celebrated the contribution it makes to the community, and the horses which make it possible. Not least this included Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior, who excelled on the world stage and were crowned the first ever joint winners of Horse of the Year honours. Despite having to operate in a most challenging and fast-changing environment, thanks to the success and agile implementation of our long-term strategies we achieved outstanding results both on and off the track.”
New Steward elected
Also at the AGM, the Club’s Voting Members elected one new Steward and re-elected four Stewards to the Board of Stewards.
The Honourable Kenneth Fok Kai Kong (biography attached) was elected to serve a one-year term filling the vacancy of Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth, who will reach the age of 70 shortly after the AGM and retired from the Board. Mr Lester G Huang, The Honourable Bernard Charnwut Chan, Miss Anita Fung Yuen Mei and Mr Philip K W Lo were each re-elected to a three-year term.
The Honourable Kenneth Fok Kai Kong, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The new Board of Stewards re-elected The Honourable Martin Liao as Chairman and Mr Lester G Huang as Deputy Chairman for 2026/27.
Long-term strategy drives record wagering and lottery turnover
Despite a challenging environment, thanks to the success of its world-class racing and wagering, the Club delivered a strong performance in FY2025/26.
Total racing wagering turnover for FY2025/26 rose 3.6% year-on-year to HK$143.3 billion, generating gaming revenue of HK$19.9 billion. Commingling was the major driver, with wagering on Hong Kong racing from 26 countries and jurisdictions up 9.0% on last year to HK$34.3 billion and accounting for 23.9% of total racing wagering turnover. In addition, thanks to support for additional simulcasts by the HKSAR Government, simulcast turnover was up 21.4%, while the World Pool, which is transforming Hong Kong into a global centre for wagering on the world’s top races, saw turnover rise 23.0%.
Football betting for FY2025/26 also performed strongly, up 3.6% to HK$179.0 billion, generating gaming revenue of HK$22.6 billion. The HKSAR Government’s support for new bet types was crucial in helping the Club compete against the illegal market, alongside the introduction of new league competitions, this summer’s global football tournament and the outstanding performance of the Club’s trading team aided by world-class risk management technology.
Mark Six turnover for FY2025/26 rose 4.2% to HK$9.4 billion, generating gaming revenue of HK$4.3 billion – an especially pleasing result with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the Mark Six lottery.
Altogether, total revenue from both gaming and non-gaming sources rose 3.1% to HK$50.8 billion.
Hong Kong’s champion horses excel
The achievements of Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior over the past season pay testament to the success of the Club’s long-term investment in world-class racing.
Ka Ying Rising remained unbeaten in 20 starts, with five Group 1 victories including the world’s richest turf race – The Everest in Australia. He ended the season as the joint highest-rated horse in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, an astonishing achievement in a racing jurisdiction with less than 1% of the global racehorse population.
Romantic Warrior also claimed five Group 1 victories to finish the season as the world’s joint third highest-rated horse. He clinched both the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and FWD QEII Cup for a fourth time. These successes boosted his earnings as the highest prizemoney winner in global racing history.
To maintain a pipeline of quality horses, the Club continues to incentivise owners and strengthen the ownership pipeline through a structured engagement strategy to attract, develop and retain owners. This includes the establishment of the HKJC Membership Syndicate, with two syndicates set to launch next season. The Racing Club also continues to be a highly effective channel for recruiting owners, with The Racing Club Syndicate also being launched.
Conghua Racecourse
Fundamental to the success of the Club’s world-class racing is Conghua Racecourse in Guangzhou. Its top-tier training and rehabilitation facilities have made an important contribution to horse welfare while its additional capacity has enabled the Club to expand its horse population to over 1,300, facilitating an increase in both field sizes and the number of races in Hong Kong. Currently, over 600 horses are trained in Conghua.
Most importantly, Conghua Racecourse will help drive the development of a national equine industry value chain, contributing to regional economic development and revitalisation. Notably the Guangzhou Conghua International Racing Development Centre, currently under construction, will facilitate international horse movements and open up new possibilities for the Chinese Mainland’s equine industry.
The Club has been working closely with the relevant Mainland departments. In 2021, the Club signed the “Framework Cooperation Agreement on Joint Promotion of the Development of the Guangzhou–Hong Kong Racing Economic Cluster” with the Guangzhou Municipal Government under the auspice of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference, which tasked the Club with organising international-standard speed racing at Conghua Racecourse and the construction of a grandstand as the core of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong equine industry development. In July 2026, the Club signed “Agreement on Deepening the Development of the Guangzhou–Hong Kong Equine Industry Collaboration” with Guangzhou. This agreement builds on the 2021 agreement and expands the scope of our collaboration, which includes the development of a Guangzhou-Hong Kong Equine Industry In-Depth Cooperation Zone, as highlighted in Guangzhou’s Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan.
In March this year, the Club signed an MOU with the Guangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau to anchor the Club’s three racecourses in Conghua and Hong Kong to jointly promote horse-themed culture, sports and tourism initiatives in the Greater Bay Area.
The Club has all along been working closely with the relevant Mainland departments, and has followed and completed all necessary statutory and procedural requirements to prepare for the launch of world-class horse racing at Conghua Racecourse in October this year.
The Club has very recently received a latest risk assessment from the relevant Mainland departments. Following discussions between both parties, it was agreed that we will continue to work closely together to devise appropriate mitigation measures. As such, the originally scheduled October event will be postponed to a later date.
Expanding the fan base via customer centricity
Responding to the changing expectations of customers in terms of the sporting and entertainment experience, the Club is investing substantially in its racecourses as well as in a new sports wagering platform that will make it more competitive against the illegal market.
Under the Racecourse Master Plan new venues are being developed and opened. The latest – Champions Connection and Genso at Sha Tin Racecourse – feature cutting-edge digital arrival, entertainment and dining experiences. At Happy Valley Racecourse, the “Wednesday Is The New Friday” campaign has seen average attendances rise 15% over the season. Major racedays also drew big crowds, including the Year of the Horse Raceday and the BMW Derby Raceday, with the latter enjoying its largest-ever attendance of over 72,000.
Racing tourism has been a major success. The Club’s racecourses received a record 401,259 tourist visits during the 2025/26 season, a 105% increase on 2024/25 and a four-fold increase on 2023/24. As highlighted in the HKSAR Chief Executive’s 2024 and 2025 Policy Addresses, racing tourism is an important contributor to Hong Kong’s overall tourism development.
Essential to this success has been the Club’s collaboration with China Travel Group and its co- ordination with the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s mega events strategy. Cross-sport initiatives such as Racing with Golf, Racing with Rugby and Racing with Football showcased the city’s world-class sport and entertainment capabilities, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s sports events capital.
Dedicated to promoting sport
The Club believes strongly in the power of sport to change lives and over the past year it has supported sports events in Hong Kong and on the Chinese Mainland.
The Club contributed over HK$500 million to support the Hong Kong and Guangdong competition regions at the 15th National Games. The Club also recognised the achievements of local athletes through its Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme. In support of Hong Kong as a hub for international sports events and sports tourism, and to heighten community interest in sport, the Club has supported 26 community partnership programmes in association with major “M” Mark sports events over the past five years.
Equestrian sport remains a core focus. The Club supported the “M” Mark LONGINES Hong Kong International Horse Show in January featuring the inaugural Asian Youth Challenge to foster the next generation of riders. The Club has long supported Hong Kong, China’s elite equestrian team riders, who clinched a record seven medals at the most recent FEI Asian Championships as well as three medals in para dressage. With the opening of the re-developed Pokfulam Public Riding School as well as Pony World in Penfold Park, the Club continues to inspire public interest in equine sport and promote appreciation of equestrian culture, while funding has been approved to establish Hong Kong’s fourth and largest public riding school at Tseung Kwan O.
Widening social impact
Thanks to the success of the Club’s world-class racing and business strategies, its Charities Trust (the Trust) is now one of the largest charity donors in the world and the largest in Asia. Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in 1997, the Trust has approved HK$98 billion in donations. During FY2025/26, the Trust approved HK$8.6 billion in donations to support 191 charities and community projects. This included a special HK$1.7 billion donation to establish a new public riding school at Tseung Kwan O.
These resources have enabled the Club to support a wide range of charity and community projects as well as to forge long-lasting relationships with its community partners. These capabilities were critical in the Club’s response to the tragic Tai Po fire in November, where it provided both emergency funding and mobilised resources from a wide range of Trust initiatives. To date, the Club and its Charities Trust have donated HK$270 million to help those in need.
To widen its social impact, a new triennial strategy was launched last year to 2027/28 consisting of nine impact-led programmes prioritising five sectors and targeting four beneficiary groups. One key area of focus is science and digital education. Teaching materials from the CoolThink@JC programme to develop computational thinking skills, together with those from the Jockey Club AI for the Future Project, have been adopted into the mainstream curriculum by the HKSAR Government’s Education Bureau. The CoolThink@JC curriculum has been taken up across 25 Chinese Mainland provincial-level administrative regions as well as rolled out nationwide in Cambodia. Building on this is the newly launched JC GoAI, which equips students with AI literacy skills.
To fund future donations, the Club donated HK$3.2 billion to the Trust this year. This comprised 95% of the Club’s operating surplus after tax, or HK$1.1 billion, plus HK$2.1 billion from the Club’s investment returns.
Through the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP), established by the Club and the Trust in 2023 as a “think, fund, do” tank for China, Asia and beyond, the Club is expanding its philanthropic impact. To support its ongoing activities the Club donated HK$1.0 billion to IoP last year.
The Trust, in association with IoP, will host the Philanthropy for Better Cities (PBC) forum this month. Now marking its 10th anniversary, PBC is helping to make Hong Kong a major centre for philanthropic thought leadership globally.
Illegal gambling - an ever-expanding threat to the community
Under Hong Kong’s system of responsible gambling, the Club is authorised by the HKSAR Government to provide wagering on horse racing and football and to operate the Mark Six lottery. In doing so the Club helps the Government combat illegal betting and the significant social problems that illegal betting creates, while providing a legal and regulated channel to meet gambling demand. Any proceeds go back to the community via betting duty, tax, Lotteries Fund contributions and through the donations of the Trust.
However, enabled by digital platforms, cryptocurrency and social media promotion, the illegal gambling market has expanded hugely. The Club has responded with its largest anti-illegal betting campaign to date. But in tackling the illegal market, Hong Kong has two fundamental disadvantages. Firstly, Hong Kong’s high rate of betting duty is eroding the competitiveness of the Club’s licensed wagering products. Betting duty on racing is up to 75%, while football betting is taxed at 50% of gross margin. Secondly, Hong Kong offers just two sports for licensed betting – racing and football – compared with up to 60 for illegal operators, including illegal betting on basketball.
In this regard, the Club fully respects the HKSAR Government’s decision to pause the granting of a licence for regulated basketball betting. But with no legal channel available, the illegal market on basketball will continue to expand and along with it the social and criminal damage to the community.
Building a strong foundation for the future
Looking to the future, the Club remains strongly committed to its purpose: the betterment of society. To maintain this commitment, the Club has invested substantially in its technology, including in the customer digital experience and in a new sports wagering platform – initially to be launched together with basketball betting (now paused) and now pivoted towards football betting. Given this significant investment, including in Conghua Racecourse, it will take time for revenue to be fully realised and, as a result, the Club’s operating surplus is set to drop further over the next few years.
In response, the Club has taken steps to reduce its operating costs and improve the agility and cost-efficiency of its ways of working. Building on its strong brand recognition, the Club is also seeking out additional non-wagering sources of revenue. The Club remains determined to maintain its strong support for the community.
