Hong Kong’s 12 Group 1s added to World Pool schedule

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The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which operates World Pool, has confirmed all 12 Group 1 contests in Hong Kong’s 2024/25 season, including this December’s Group 1 quartet of Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR), will be run for the first time under the World Pool banner.

Since the inaugural World Pool race at Royal Ascot in 2019, only races from outside Hong Kong have been run as World Pool events, but the HKJC has now moved to consolidate its top-level races, which have all been ranked within the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) LONGINES World’s Top 100 Group 1 races in the last three years, under the same banner.

Though commingled pools for Hong Kong races started in the 2013/14 season, and all Hong Kong races are technically HKJC-hosted commingled pools in the same way as World Pool, this will be the first time races in Hong Kong have been incorporated into the World Pool schedule.

Hong Kong will become the ninth jurisdiction to host World Pool races, joining the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Argentina. Over 25 jurisdictions and 70 partners bet into both the Hong Kong pools and World Pool and, in season 2024/25, 84 of the IFHA Top 100 Group 1 races will be part of World Pool.

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the HKJC, said:

World Pool has provided many benefits to the global horse racing industry including deep and liquid parimutuel markets, increased value opportunities, greater certainty of odds and enhanced returns. World Pool is also a key weapon in the fight against illegal gambling operators and has delivered increased returns to the sport allowing authorities to invest into prizemoney and the broader sustainability of horse racing. Additionally, World Pool drives promotion of our sport with a heavy focus on the best international events, horses, jockeys and trainers, drawing predominantly from the IFHA’s LONGINES Top 100 Group 1 races. As such, it is timely to add Hong Kong’s best races to the World Pool brand commencing with the four Group 1 races on HKIR Day. Hong Kong has only 0.7% of the global total of racehorses in training, yet in 2023 had 14 horses featured in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and 12 races in the IFHA LONGINES Top 100 Group 1 races. We are proud of the HKJC’s world-class racing and the development of World Pool and look forward to the two of them sitting side by side in the future.

Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products at the HKJC, said:

The move to bring a further 12 of the IFHA’s LONGINES Top 100 Group 1 races to a global betting audience of over 25 jurisdictions via World Pool marks the HKJC’s intent to promote premium racing. Branding the top Hong Kong races as World Pool makes strategic sense, as it is not just a wagering brand and the aim is to bring the best international races under the World Pool banner. With the growing popularity of World Pool, we aim to keep increasing our contribution to racing which benefits the entire ecosystem. So far in the UK, where World Pool has been in operation since 2019, and Ireland the money that World Pool has generated for racecourses there has surpassed HK$500 million. This will go from strength-to-strength globally as we grow the World Pool offering.

Hong Kong races in season 2024/25 to be run as World Pool races:

08/12/2024 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup

08/12/2024 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile

08/12/2024 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint

08/12/2024 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase

19/01/2025 G1 Stewards’ Cup

19/01/2025 G1 Centenary Sprint Cup

23/02/2025 G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup

23/02/2025 G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup

27/04/2025 G1 FWD QEII Cup

27/04/2025 G1 FWD Champions Mile

27/04/2025 G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize

25/05/2025 G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup

Turnover for 2024 UK & Irish season surpasses £450m

Earlier this season, the HKJC announced that its contribution to British and Irish racecourses as a result of World Pool hit £50 million.

The UK & Ire Flat season was brought to a record-breaking close, as a 12-race composite card from Australia and British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday 19 October generated $424.1m (£48m) in World Pool betting turnover, the highest recorded on a single day.

That helped carry the season’s total turnover to HK$4.6bn (approx. £455m), which is only marginally down on 2023’s figure of HK$4.7bn (approx. £475m).

Fitzsimons added:

Racing in the UK and Ireland has been, and continues to be, the foundation on which World Pool was built and we’re very pleased with another successful season. Turnover is right in line with global betting trends and the economic climate, while the record achieved for a composite 12-race card, which mixed racing from Australia with the UK, showed that there are plenty of opportunities for growth.

UK and Irish punters enjoy exceptional value with Tote

Customers betting with the Tote on UK and Irish World Pool days once again enjoyed exceptional value:

• Tote Win beat the Industry Starting Price in 55% of races and matched on the remaining occasions, returning on average 9% more.
• A £1 bet with the Tote on every winner on British and Irish World Pool days in 2024 paid £207.86 more than the industry Starting Price.
• Tote Win overround was 112% versus an industry Starting Price of 120%.
• Tote Exacta beat Forecast in 84% of races, returning on average 37% more.
• Tote Trifecta beat Tricast in 84% of races where the Tricast operated, returning on average 59% more.

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote, said:

It’s hugely positive to see British and Irish racing enjoy another successful World Pool season in 2024. With World Pool contributing over £50 million to racecourses since its inception six years ago, and that sum only set to grow as World Pool expands, it has genuinely established itself as one of the most important revenue streams for the sport. At the same time, it is providing unprecedented value for customers with the Tote Win price beating the industry Starting Price over half of the time at World Pool events, and never being beaten with Tote Guarantee. With our long-term contract in place with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, making the UK Tote the exclusive partner for World Pool in the UK and Ireland, we look forward to continuing to collaborate on exciting developments, including more World Pool days and improvements to the customer experience for the 2025 season.