Record prize-money boost for the International meeting

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is boosting purses for the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December by ten per cent to a record HK$93 million (£8.9m/€10m).

The increase for the quartet of Group 1 events is part of an overall five per cent upgrade in prize-money for the 2018-19 season. The 88 meetings at Sha Tin and Happy Valley will award HK$1.22 billion (£117.1m/€132.3m) in purses.

HKJC executive director of racing Andrew Harding said the December races comprise one of Hong Kong's most elite and globally recognized major events.

"It is important that the prize-money for these races is at the level consistent with their status at the pinnacle of the sport and their significance to Hong Kong's international status as a major events host," he said.

Class-level races, the bread and butter of day-to-day racing, will see purse increases ranging from 4.5 per cent to five per cent and the unique "high achievement bonus" programme also is sweetened by as much as 15 per cent.

Harding noted the increases across the racing classes reward continuing efforts to improve the quality of racing throughout the year.

"Maintaining high prize-money recognizes owners' continuous efforts to purchase some of the best horses in the world," Harding said. "And that is vital for the ongoing strength of Hong Kong racing within a competitive global market."

The Hong Kong Cup gets a 12 per cent boost over last year, taking its value to HK$28 million (£2.7m/€3m) - maintaining its status as one of the two richest races in the world at 1m2f on turf, the HKJC said in the announcement.

The Mile purse will be hiked by HK$2 million to HK$25 million (£2.4m/€2.7m) and the Sprint has a new value of HK$20 million (£1.92m/€2.17m), an increase of eight per cent over 2017. The Vase jumps 11 per cent to HK$20 million.

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