PRIZE-MONEY and incentive awards for the 2015/2016 Hong Kong racing season will be the most lucrative ever, rising by HK$76 million, representing a 7.5% increase on the 2014/2015 season.
A HK$54.4 million slice of that increase will be shared across all Class races, from Class 1 to Class 5. Hong Kong’s Pattern race programme will also see significant prize money hikes and the successful High Achievement Bonus (HAB) scheme will be bolstered and extended.
“The overall increase in prize money and incentive awards for next season upholds the Club’s objective to maintain and improve the quality of Hong Kong racing,” said Mr William A. Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director of Racing. “We appreciate the increasing financial pressures that our loyal owners are experiencing when purchasing high-class horses and continued efforts to increase prize money over the past seasons demonstrates our ongoing commitment to strike the right balance.”
Class 1 prize money will rise to HK$2.4 million (9.1% increase), Class 2 races will be worth HK$1.65 million (10%), Class 3 contests will be valued at HK$1.165 million (9.9%), Class 4 HK$800,000 (5.3%) and Class 5 HK$600,000 (4.3%).
Class |
2014/15 Value (HK$) |
Increase (HK$) |
2015/16 Value (HK$) |
% Increase |
|
1 |
2,200,000 |
200,000 |
2,400,000 |
9.1% |
|
2 |
1,500,000 |
150,000 |
1,650,000 |
10.0% |
|
3 |
1,060,000 |
105,000 |
1,165,000 |
9.9% |
|
4 |
760,000 |
40,000 |
800,000 |
5.3% |
|
5 |
575,000 |
25,000 |
600,000 |
4.3% |
Hong Kong already stages the richest 1200m (LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint), 1400m (Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup), 1600m (LONGINES Hong Kong Mile) and 2000m (LONGINES Hong Kong Cup) turf races in the world, and, as such, there is no change to its incredibly strong international Group 1 purses. However, four local G1 contests will receive prize money boosts in 2015/2016.
The Classic series for four-year-olds, which concludes with the HK$18 million BMW Hong Kong Derby, will benefit from increases to its first two legs: the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile receives a HK$2 million boost to reach the HK$10 million threshold, while the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Cup will also be worth HK$10 million thanks to a HK$4 million increase. In total, the three-race series for locally-based four-year-old horses is now worth HK$38 million.
In the Hong Kong Speed Series, the HKG1 Centenary Sprint Cup and the HKG1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize will both hold purses of HK$8 million next season, a rise of HK$1.4 million for each race. The Club has altered the race distance for the HKG1 Centenary Sprint Cup to a one-turn 1200m, after previously traversing the straight 1000m. The full 2015/2016 fixture list will be announced shortly.
Races |
2014/15 (HK$) |
Increase (HK$) |
2015/16 (HK$) |
Hong Kong Classic Mile |
8,000,000 |
2,000,000 |
10,000,000 |
Hong Kong Classic Cup |
6,000,000 |
4,000,000 |
10,000,000 |
Centenary Sprint Cup |
6,600,000 |
1,400,000 |
8,000,000 |
Chairman's Sprint Prize |
6,600,000 |
1,400,000 |
8,000,000 |
There is also an increase to Hong Kong’s international G2 and local HKG2 races with all rising in value by 3.2% to HK$4 million. This includes the three G2 Jockey Club races, staged in November and open to international entrants, which provide a natural progression into December’s four G1 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races. All local HKG3 races will be worth HK$3 million in 2015/2016, a rise of 9.1% on last term’s HK$2.75 million purses. The HKG3 Hong Kong Macau Trophy’s prize fund will rise by HK$600,000 to meet the HK$3 million level.
Races |
2014/15 (HK$) |
Increase (HK$) |
2015/16 (HK$) |
International G2 & HK G2 |
3,875,000 |
125,000 |
4,000,000 |
HK G3 |
2,750,000 |
250,000 |
3,000,000 |
Hong Kong Macau Trophy |
2,400,000 |
600,000 |
3,000,000 |
“Ahead of this past season we noted the need to maintain the high quality of horses imported to Hong Kong, along with the need to arrest the drop in the number of horses we had competing in Class 2 and above. After the HK$90 million increase in prize money for the 2014/2015 season, we have maintained and enhanced that strategy going into the 2015/2016 season with a further HK$76 million increase,” said Nader.
As part of the Club’s strategy to incentivise owners to import high quality horses, the High Achievement Bonus (HAB) scheme was implemented for the 2014/2015 campaign. The HAB scheme paid out bonuses to 28 highly promising horses (through June).
After that fine start, the Club has decided to extend eligibility for the full HK$1 million bonus to any horse that gains a first win in Class 1 or above before reaching the age of five. A one-time only High Achievement Bonus of HK$750,000 will be awarded to the owner of any horse which wins a Class 2 race before reaching 5 years of age with a minimum rating of 80 at the time of the win. A horse which had already won a Class 2 HAB (HK$750,000) will receive a top-up bonus of HK$250,000 if the horse subsequently wins a Class 1 or above.
Further special bonuses during the upcoming season remain the same. These include the Triple Crown bonus of HK$10 million and the HK$5 million Hong Kong Speed Series bonus. The Happy Valley Million Challenge will also continue with a HK$1 million bonus, as will the ISG bonus of HK$600,000 for any Hong Kong International Sale graduate that gains the first win in Class 3 before the end of its first full season after the year of purchase.