Hong Kong Jockey Club investigates local turnover decline in five of six meetings

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is investigating a slide in local betting turnover after wagering fell 11.5 percent year-on-year at its latest Sha Tin meeting, the fifth decline in six fixtures since the 2026/27 season opened.

Local turnover on the 11-race card on Sunday totaled HK$1.359 billion ($174 million), the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges called the trend a concern and said after the meeting that a team was examining the causes.

The club said its customer base was similar to a year earlier. However, head of racing product Greg Carpenter said average bet sizes had been very soft across the first five fixtures, according to the newspaper.

Engelbrecht-Bresges said the increase in commingled and simulcast races could be cannibalizing turnover. He said the customer base was steady, but the club was now offering more product.

“I don’t like it if we don’t have sufficient liquidity in the local races,” he said. He added that the club needed to expand its customer base.

Field sizes also weighed on the card. The Group 3 Celebration Cup drew nine runners, compared with 14 last time. Fields tend to be thinner early in the season, when some trainers hold horses back in the hot weather.

The early-season weakness follows a year in which HKJC racing turnover rose 3.6 percent to HK$143.3 billion ($18.4 billion), with overseas commingling the main driver, according to the club’s annual results.

https://agbrief.com/news/hong-kong/29/09/2026/hong-kong-jockey-club-investigates-local-turnover-decline-in-five-of-six-meetings/