The Hong Kong Jockey Club achieved a record $93.8 billion (US$12.1 billion) in handle in the 2012-13 season as reinvestment in the physical plant and aggressive marketing targeting younger patrons appear to be paying off.
The total worked out to a 9% increase year on year, breaking the previous record set in 1996-97. More than 2 million people attended the 83 races.
Chief Executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges called it “one of the best seasons we’ve had, ever,” one in which a number of strategic moves “helped to grow our base of racing fans significantly.”
The club has invested upwards of $3 billion in the last few years to upgrade its facilities and add new restaurants and other attractions. Live music, themed party nights and wine-tasting events were launched to attract more of the city’s considerable crowd of young professionals. To draw more mainland Chinese the club also added a betting venue in Beijing.
The club continues to face challenges, though, as competition from land-based casinos and Internet gambling combine with higher operating costs to bite into profit margins. The $4.5 billion in net income in 2012-13 was shy of the record $4.5 billion achieved in 1999-2000.
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