A thanksgiving service will be held on Monday 11 May at St Mary’s Church, Amport, Hampshire, England for Major-General Bernard Penfold, former General Manager of the Club, who passed away on 22 April. The Club will be represented by former Chief Executive Major-General Guy Watkins, who will read out a letter of condolence on behalf of the Board of Stewards.
General Penfold was the Club’s General Manager (the equivalent of Chief Executive Officer) from 1972 to 1979, during which time he helped lay the foundation for racing as we know it today. General Penfold’s mandate, when he was appointed by the Board of Stewards in January 1972, was to complete the transition to professional racing which had begun with the introduction of professional jockeys in 1971. During the next eight years, until his retirement in December 1979, he presided over a number of significant milestones in the Club’s history, including the introduction of night racing at Happy Valley in 1973, of off-course betting and telephone betting in 1974, and the launch of the Mark Six lottery in 1975.
These last three initiatives dealt a major blow to Hong Kong’s illegal bookmakers, and the additional revenue thus channeled to Government, and to charity via the Jockey Club, made a significant contribution to the advancement of Hong Kong’s community welfare. Most obviously it helped fund the Club’s construction of Ocean Park, Hong Kong’s first theme and leisure park, which opened in 1977.
But it is Sha Tin racecourse, which opened in October 1978, for which General Penfold will always be remembered. For it is this racecourse – reclaimed from the sea – which has become the iconic home of Hong Kong’s world-class racing. Fittingly, Penfold Park, a public park in the heart of the racecourse, is named after the General.
Commenting on General Penfold, the Club’s Chairman, Dr Simon S O Ip said: “General Penfold leaves a strong and unforgettable legacy in Hong Kong. The many community projects he helped to establish still flourish, including Ocean Park. Sha Tin racecourse is now home to some of the world’s top thoroughbreds and the venue for races at International Group 1 level. Indeed, General Penfold would surely be delighted to know that the world’s joint number one racehorse – Able Friend – is now stabled in Sha Tin. It is a remarkable legacy, and one for which Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Jockey Club, is deeply grateful. On behalf of the Board of Stewards I would like to pass on our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
