Hong Kong co-mingling going better than expected

The half-term report from Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges about this season’s co-mingling of overseas horseracing bets into the massive local pools, including through four UK-based operators, is "better than expected".

However, the smile on his face suggests the exercise, driven by former SIS stalwart George Irvine since January 2016, is doing slightly better than that.

"Co-mingling now regularly accounts for 12 per cent or more of our pools," Engelbrecht-Bresges said, "so we are very happy with the operation."