If you want to own a horse, it confers a big social cachet. Around 800 full time racing members who are drawn by the ballot are allowed to own horses. They must deposit around $400,000 in the bank to show that they can easily afford at least one overhead. Training and stabling expenses at the HKJC (Hong Kong Jockey Club) premises amount to $30,000 per month.

This may perhaps be another reason why the Hong Kong International Sale has become a winning concept. Around 300 to 350 horses are imported by Hong Kong every year. The club selects about thirty yearlings from premier sales all over the world. They have a niche in the 2-year-old segment in the training sale in December. The Hong Kong Jockey Club spends millions of Australian dollars on yearlings.

Hong Kong has always been a leader and it continues to impress with its many changes that enable it to compete on the global scale, says Rick Worthington, who is a veteran in the quarantine and pre-exports of about 500-600 horses to Asia. He has been historically tasked to prepare the horses for Hong Kong Jockey Club International Sale.

Quality and standard of horses

It has been said that the standard of a hong kong racing horse has been dramatically enhanced after 1992 when Chief Executive Watkins removed the restriction on the import of Horses in Hong Kong.

It is also said that the quality of horses in Hong Kong has skyrocketed over the last decade. In the recent years, the world has seen the likes of Vengeance of Rain, Silent Witness and Cape of Good Hope grace Hong Kongs happy valley races. One can simply not ignore the quality of horses that Hong Kong has produced.

When you wander along the stable row and analyze the pedigree data printed on each horse’s name, you will find frequent appearances of the AUS suffix. Most of the best horses in Hong Kong are imported from Australia, and it is a trend that is likely to continue for years to come.