FWD CHAMPIONS DAY 2024 - THE NUMBERS ARE GOOD AFTER A CHALLENGING WEEK WITH THE WEATHER

By Darren Winningham | Sunday, April 28, 2024

The 2024 FWD Champions Day held at Sha Tin on Sunday 28 April has been a resounding success according to the HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.

In the post event media conference Engelbrecht-Bresges highlighted the challenges that faced the Club in the lead up to the event where 250 mm of rain fell on the Sha Tin racecourse across the week.

He credited his hard working and fabulous track team for getting the track in good racing order and providing a safe and uniform surface for all runners. Engelbrecht-Bresges said, “Our team did an extraordinary job with this kind of weather to have ground which was extremely fair and enabled all horses to participate.”

The Sha Tin track has the amazing ability to drain – it certainly can own the tag of one of, if not the best wet weather track in the world.

The crowd was down around 20,000 on what the HKJC was hoping for. With only 32, 171 patrons attending. This was despite the early gloomy conditions where the rain was persistent.

The betting turnover was HK$1.55 billion – only a small decrease in the turnover in 2023.

In a bold statement to the racing world, the HKJC CEO announced that the prize money on the FWD Champions Mile will be dramatically increased for 2025.

FWD Champions Mile will rise from HK$22 million to HK$24 million. In making the announcement Engelbrecht-Bresges said, “We can create a little bit more excitement with prize money and we can promote it more across the world.

“I am convinced it can go from strength to strength. We are determined to develop this race meeting even further because we had to relaunch it after the pandemic.”

In addition, the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (Group 1) will increase from HK$36 million to HK$40 million. This increase keeps this race as the race with the most prize money in Hong Kong.

The HKJC Executive Director of Racing, Andrew Harding, said: “Hong Kong’s two international race days – the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races and FWD Champions Day – are among the elite meetings on the global stage.

“As such, the Club believes it is appropriate to provide strategic and targeted prize money increases to flagship races on our international race days. The FWD Champions Mile, LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and LONGINES Hong Kong Cup were all ranked in the top 20 of the LONGINES World’s Top 100 G1 Races last year, providing incredible competition and entertainment with the victories of Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior against world-class opposition.

The prize money increases demonstrate the Club’s commitment to adequately rewarding both the Hong Kong and international owners vying for success in three of our top races.”

With such extraordinary prize money on offer I would think that the international trainers and owners will be looking to target these races. Australian connections must be seriously licking their lips and considering coming to Hong Kong and competing on the world stage.

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