MEDIA FROM SIXTEEN COUNTRIES COVERED THE HKIR

By Darren Winningham | Tuesday, December 10, 2024

The focus of the racing world is on Hong Kong for a week every year in December when the LONGINES HKIR event is staged over two days.

The first is the LONGINES International Jockeys Championship (IJC) held at Happy Valley midweek. Then.biggest event in horse racing in Hong Kong each year is the superb LONGINES HKIR day held at Sha Tin on Sunday. This year with over 70,000 in attendance.

The international media swarms Hong Kong looking to cover these amazing races over the week.

This year over 150 media accreditations were handed out to organizations across the world.

Let me run through the countries that were represented:

Australia
Canada
China – Mainland
Germany
Great Britain
Ireland
Italy
France
Japan – always the biggest contingent
Malaysia
New Zealand
Singapore
United Kingdom
United Arab Emirates
United States
And, in 2024 for the first time, representation from Peru

A total of 16 countries were represented.

Despite the diverse languages and the different personalities, we all get along well.

I have made many lifetime friends at this event – most I keep in contact with when I return home to Australia.

Coming to Hong Kong is like coming home to my family. We meet with handshakes, a cuddle, a kiss and warm greetings. We share stories of horse racing and where we come from.

On some occasions it is like attending a tourism expo – except you are getting local knowledge of people’s home countries and information of experiences you must do when you visit.

I simply love the atmosphere that is created by the LONGINES HKIR and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

It is an exhilarating experience.

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