Club has brought countless benefits to society, Chairman tells community partners

27 June 2010

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's not-for-profit business model has brought countless benefits to society over the years, Chairman Dr John C C Chan told guests at the Club's annual Community Day race meeting at Sha Tin today (27 June).  While reaffirming the Club's commitment to continue supporting the community in the future, he warned that its long-term success and sustainability could not be taken for granted in today's highly competitive environment.

Dr Chan noted that the Club provided sporting entertainment for the public, and assisted the Government in combating illegal and offshore gambling while returning maximum benefits to the community through its huge betting duty and tax payments, and making donations to hundreds of charitable and community projects each year.

"Since 1973, when the Club was authorised to offer off-course betting, our total charitable donations have exceeded HK$25 billion, and we have contributed a remarkable HK$240 billion to the public purse," he told the guests.  "In addition, we play a major role in creating and preserving jobs.  We employ 26,000 people directly, while our racing operations help sustain employment for tens of thousands more."

About 160 representatives of Government agencies, non-government organisations, academic institutions and other groups attended today's Community Day race meeting, an event established in 2005 as a way of honouring the Club's many successful community partnerships.  Guest of honour was Executive Councillor Dr the Hon Leong Che-hung, who is also Chairman of the Elderly Commission.

Dr Chan recalled that in past years, the Club's contributions had been directed mostly at helping Hong Kong meet pressing social needs - for example the difficult post-war period when the Club funded the building of much-needed primary schools, clinics and recreational facilities.  "Thankfully, Hong Kong has grown stronger and more self-sustaining since then, but we still stand ready to meet urgent social needs as and when they arise," he said.  "A recent example was our prompt granting of emergency relief for victims of the building collapse in Ma Tau Wai just before Chinese New Year, which helped 72 families get through their difficulties at this crucial time."

Nowadays, Dr Chan observed, the Club saw its primary mission as helping Hong Kong people enhance their overall quality of life.  In addition to partnering Government, NGOs and the districts in providing a wide range of community services, the Club has been taking a proactive approach in anticipating the city's future challenges and initiating its own major projects to address them.  Examples are CADENZA, launched to prepare the community for Hong Kong's ageing population; the Environment Project which aims to engage the community more actively in sustainable development; and the FAMILY Project, initiated to foster a more harmonious society.

"None of these projects would be possible without our close partnerships with the Government, charity groups, NGOs, academic institutions and district organisations," he stressed, thanking the Club's community partners for their staunch support.  "We hope to work even more closely with our NGO partners in the future, so as to develop innovative and sustainable service models that bring direct benefits to society."

Dr Chan added that over the years, the Club had striven continuously to upgrade the standards of its racecourses and horse racing product, to the extent that horse racing had not only become Hong Kong's most popular spectator sport, but also an icon of the city's way of life and a major tourism attraction.  "This is really the most crucial achievement of all, because it must never be forgotten that it is the continued success of horse racing that makes all our charitable and community donations possible," he emphasised.

Nevertheless, he warned, the continued success and sustainability of the Club's core horse racing operations could never be taken for granted in today's highly competitive world, where Hong Kong families had countless other leisure and entertainment options within easy reach locally, in Macau and in other surrounding areas.   All this was revenue lost to the public purse in Hong Kong, and lost to the Club's funding for charitable donations.  "If we are to lure even a small part of this revenue back to Hong Kong, or indeed prevent further leakage, the Club must be allowed reasonable room to offer competitive products and services," Dr Chan stressed.

The Chairman also highlighted the Club's important role in combating illegal and underage gambling, an issue that had come to the fore during the current football World Cup.  "Increasingly, the illegal operators are moving from collecting bets in bars and clubs to operating online, which makes them even more easily accessible to young people," he warned.  "Some are even posting hyperlinks on social networking sites frequented by the young generation.  In contrast, we at the Club have made a concerted effort to strengthen access controls at our betting outlets, including our online channels, to make absolutely sure that the underaged cannot place bets.  We are also sponsoring our own TV series to promote responsible gambling messages."

"Far from promoting gambling during the World Cup, therefore, the Club is actually playing a crucial role in combating underage and unregulated gambling, especially among our young people," Dr Chan stressed.  "These are indeed social problems that require the co-ordinated effort of the whole community to solve, alongside the Club, the police and the Government."

The annual Community Day race meeting was established following the generous donation of a historic silver racing trophy by Member Tobias Brown, in recognition of the Club's long-standing support for the community.

The 160-year-old trophy has since been renamed The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Trophy and is awarded to the winning owner of the feature race on Community Day.  Today's winning horse was Mighty High, ridden by Jeffrey Lloyd.  Dr Leong presented the trophy to Owner Mr Albert Hung.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has become one of Hong Kong's best known and respected organisations, providing the public with world-class sporting entertainment as well as being the city's major non-Government community benefactor, now donating more than HK$1 billion a year to charitable and community projects.  It has been a part of Hong Kong through good times and bad, sharing the city's growth and development with its people, and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for future generations.