1/9/2020
Jockey Club¡¦s success in maintaining racing throughout the pandemic contributes significantly to the community and employment;
Mr Philip N L Chen re-elected as Chairman; Mr Michael T H Lee re-elected as Deputy Chairman;
Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth and Dr Henry H L Chan elected to the Board of Stewards
The Hong Kong Jockey Club announced today (1 September) its results for the 2019/20 financial year ended 30 June 2020. Despite a challenging year, the Club returned a total of HK$25.2 billion to the community. This included HK$19.9 billion in duty and profits tax to the Government, HK$0.8 billion to the Lotteries Fund, and HK$4.5 billion in donations approved by the Club¡¦s Charities Trust. The latter included a commitment of HK$346 million to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Stewards elected
At its Annual General Meeting (¡§AGM¡¨) held today (1 September), the Club¡¦s Voting Members elected two new Stewards and re-elected four Stewards to the Board.
Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth and Dr Henry H L Chan were elected to a one-year term each to fill the vacancies left by Dr Anthony W K Chow SBS, JP and The Hon Sir C K Chow GBS, JP. Mr Lester G Huang SBS, JP, who was co-opted to fill the vacancy left by former Deputy Chairman Mr Lester C H Kwok JP, who retired in April, was elected to serve a three year term, while Stewards Dr Eric Li Ka Cheung GBS, OBE, JP, Mrs Margaret Leung SBS, JP and Dr Rosanna Wong Yick Ming DBE, JP were re-elected to serve terms of three years each.
Following the AGM, the new Board of Stewards re-elected Mr Philip N L Chen GBS, JP as Chairman and Mr Michael T H Lee JP as Deputy Chairman for 2020/21.
Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth (detailed biography attached) joined the Club as a Member in 1990 and became a Voting Member in 1999. He is a member and manager of two Syndicates: the Equity Syndicate and the Hong Kong Football Club Horse Racing Syndicate, as well as a member of the Master Syndicate. Mr Hunsworth practised as a solicitor with Mayer Brown, retiring as a partner in 2019. He remains a senior consultant with the firm. He is currently President of the Hong Kong Football Club.
Dr Henry H L Chan (detailed biography attached) has been a Member of the Club since 1995 and became a Voting Member in 2010. A racing enthusiast, among the horses he has co-owned is iVictory, winner of the Group 1 2018 Chairman¡¦s Sprint Prize. Dr Chan is a Specialist in Dermatology in private practice. He is an Honorary Clinical Professor of The University of Hong Kong and an Honorary Consultant of Queen Mary Hospital. Among his public duties he is a Council and Court member of The University of Hong Kong.
Racing on together
In a year which tested the community as never before, the Club¡¦s purpose ¡V the betterment of society ¡V was never more important.
Recognising the vital importance of racing, not just to its million plus fans but because of the essential tax and charity support it provides, the Club raced on throughout the pandemic, with not a single race lost. It did so with the full support of the Government and by implementing stringent health measures, including strict attendance limits at racecourses. The Club¡¦s success, when much of global sport and racing was shut down, earned accolades around the world. It also enabled the Club to provide valuable stay-at-home-entertainment at a time when residents were being urged to avoid public gatherings.
Racing turnover was in consequence down just 3.2% to HK$121 billion. Across the entire season (1 September 2019 ¡V 15 July 2020) racing contributed HK$12.1 billion in betting duty to the Government. Significantly HK$6.2 billion of this came after the Club implemented special health measures and would not have been available had racing shut down.
Football betting however was heavily impacted by the cancellation or postponement of football matches worldwide, with 3,273 matches lost. Turnover, at HK$92.6 billion, was down 18.8%. With the majority of Mark Six customers buying tickets in person at Off-Course Betting Branches, the Club suspended the lottery on 2 February in the interests of public health. As a result Mark Six turnover fell 39% to HK$5.1 billion.
Throughout the pandemic the Club provided its full support to the community, with some HK$346 million committed to tackle its impact. This included the purchase of 14 million face masks and half a million care packs and the provision of free mobile data bandwidth to 100,000 underprivileged school students during the school closure period. A HK$100 million COVID-19 Emergency Fund provided fast-track grants to community agencies providing emergency relief, with 219 agencies receiving grants for 241 initiatives as of 30 June. And a HK$150 million Community Sustainability Fund is supporting small and medium-sized community and sports organsiations to design and deliver services for underprivileged and vulnerable groups. With the pandemic far from over, the Club will continue to do everything it can to support the community.
In support of its over 21,000 employees, the Club implemented a wide range of health and welfare measures, including the provision of 3.7 million face masks. The Club has undertaken not to lay off full-time employees on account of the pandemic. Despite the closure of racecourse and betting facilities, where most of its 13,000 part-time staff work, the Club paid all eligible part-time staff 50% of their average weekly earnings until the end of the season. And in support of other companies, especially small businesses, the Club has not taken up the Government¡¦s Employment Support Scheme, freeing up these resources for those with pressing needs.
Looking back over the year, Club Chairman Philip Chen said it was one of the finest in the Club¡¦s history, ¡§I believe we have every reason to be proud of the Club. We maintained our core racing, wagering and membership operations. We kept our customers, members, employees and licensed personnel safe and protected. Above all, we stayed true to our purpose. In short, we did what was right for the Club and what was best for Hong Kong.¡¨
Echoing these sentiments, Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said, ¡§Racing is an important symbol of Hong Kong and its can-do-spirit, not to mention the vital support it provides through tax and charity funding. We were therefore determined to keep racing going. This commitment was no less strong among horse owners, trainers and jockeys, backed up by the Club¡¦s employees. I would especially like to thank our many employee heroes, who banded together to safeguard the wellbeing of our customers, members and the wider community.¡¨
Making progress
Despite the many challenges of the year, the Club continued to progress and continued to invest in the community and in its business development.
Hong Kong horses and races ranked highly on the world stage, with 10 races in the World¡¦s Top 100 Group Races for 2019 and 20 horses in the World¡¦s Beast Racehorse Rankings. Among these was Beauty Generation, rated the world¡¦s best miler. To encourage horse owners to continue investing in quality thoroughbreds, and to attract top overseas horses to race in Hong Kong, next season prize money will rise to a record HK$1.4 billion. This stands in contrast to other racing jurisdictions, which have already cut prize money.
Conghua Racecourse, the Club¡¦s thoroughbred training centre near Guangzhou, operated throughout the pandemic thanks to the support of Hong Kong and Mainland authorities. Hong Kong horses benefiting from its superb facilities produced no less than 139 winners, including such big race wins as the Group 1 FWD Champions Mile.
Commingling, whereby overseas fans wager on Hong Kong racing via the Club¡¦s overseas partners, experienced strong growth, up 25.3% to HK$23.6 billion. Indeed commingling contributed significantly to the strong performance of racing, providing almost 20% of total racing turnover. The year also saw the second commingled World Pool offered by the Club and its partners on Royal Ascot, with turnover up 33% to HK$1.4 billion.
The Club is a world leader in wagering technology, with its digital and mobile platforms now responsible for some 70% of wagering turnover ¡V rising to 90% at the height of the pandemic. Under its Smart Channel 2.0 strategy the Club is digitalising the entire customer journey. A key initiative in 2019/20, the Faster Payment System (FPS) for online funds transfer, saw 240,000 customers sign up within three months, making the Club one of the largest FPS merchants in Hong Kong.
Above all, and despite the decline in wagering turnover, the Club¡¦s Charities Trust increased its approved donations by 5.8% to HK$4.5 billion. This enabled the Club to continue providing its full support for a wide range of community needs, with 210 projects benefiting. Among these donations was HK$535.3 million for Haven of Hope Christian Services to construct an end-of-life care services complex. The Club recognises that such support is especially important at a time when community resources are under severe pressure.
Navigating through turbulent times
The Club¡¦s success, and thereby its support for the community, is ultimately dependent on its business performance. But with the pandemic bringing huge uncertainty to the social and economic environment, it is clear that the future will be extremely challenging. This impact is already being felt, the Club¡¦s funding donations to its Charities Trust falling from HK$4.3 billion in 2018/19 to HK$2.55 billion in 2019/20.
The Club is nonetheless determined to sustain its support for the community. It will manage its resources prudently while investing strategically for long-term growth. It will continue to develop the quality of its world-class racing and technology through the further development of Conghua Racecourse, the redevelopment of Sha Tin stables and the ongoing development of a new customer information and wagering system. It will pursue the rich potential of commingling. It will also seize every opportunity to develop its business, with simulcasting ¡V the broadcast of overseas races to Hong Kong ¡V increasingly attracting the interest of local fans.
The Club cannot, however, achieve all this alone. With Hong Kong, and the world, facing unprecedented uncertainty, the Club needs the support of all its friends and partners in the community.
Said Club Chairman Philip Chen, ¡§Ultimately everything comes back to the Club¡¦s purpose ¡V the betterment of our society ¡V which must, and will, remain the same. We will continue to enhance our much-admired position by doing the right things and doing them right. We will strive hard to improve our business results so that we can maintain our charity donations.¡¨
Results summary - by financial year (1 July 2019 ¡V 30 June 2020)
| | 2019/20 (HK$m) | 2018/19 (HK$m) | % change |
| Racing turnover* | 120,990 | 125,002 | -3.2% |
| Football turnover | 92,598 | 114,074 | -18.8% |
| Mark Six turnover | 5,161 | 8,465 | -39.0% |
| Total | 218,749 | 247,541 | -11.6% |
*87 race meetings in 2019/20 vs 88 in 2018/19
Club¡¦s contributions - by financial year (1 July 2019 ¡V 30 June 2020)
| | 2019/20 (HK$m) | 2018/19 (HK$m) | % change |
| Racing betting duty | 12,071 | 12,981 | -7.0% |
| Football betting duty | 6,273 | 7,671 | -18.2% |
| Lottery duty | 1,290 | 2,116 | -39.0% |
| Profits tax | 323 | 569 | -43.2% |
| Lotteries fund | 774 | 1,270 | -39.1% |
| Approved charity donation | 4,525 | 4,277 | +5.8% |
| Total | 25,256 | 28,884 | -12.6% |
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's 2019/20 Annual Report can be downloaded from the HKJC website at
https://corporate.hkjc.com/corporate/english/history-and-reports/annual-19-20.aspx
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2019/20, the Club contributed HK$19.9 billion in duty and profits tax and HK$0.8 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity donations were HK$4.5 billion. The Club is Hong Kong¡¦s largest single taxpayer and one of the city¡¦s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world¡¦s top ten charity donors. The Club is always ¡§riding high together for a better future¡¨ with the people of Hong Kong. Please visit www.hkjc.com.
Attachments
1. Biography of Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth
2. Biography of Dr Henry H L Chan
Photos
Photo 1: Mr Nicholas D Hunsworth, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Photo 2: Dr Henry H L Chan, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
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Photos can be downloaded from The Hong Kong Jockey Club website (http://corporate.hkjc.com/corporate/english/corporate-news/index.aspx).
Media enquiries
Betty Law
Executive Manager, Public Affairs (Corporate and Media Services)
Tel: 2966 8126
Jennifer Wong
Public Affairs Support Manager (Corporate and Media Services)
Tel: 2966 8460
