HKJC brings all 12 Hong Kong Group 1 races into World Pool for 2024/25

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), operator of World Pool, has announced that all 12 Group 1 races in Hong Kong’s 2024/25 racing season will be incorporated into the World Pool schedule, beginning with the four Group 1 contests at December’s Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR).

Since World Pool launched at Royal Ascot in 2019, the commingled betting product had only featured races staged outside Hong Kong. The HKJC has now moved to bring its own top-tier fixtures under the same brand, having confirmed that all 12 races have featured in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Longines World’s Top 100 Group 1 rankings over the past three years.

Hong Kong becomes the ninth jurisdiction to host World Pool races, joining the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Argentina. More than 25 jurisdictions and 70 wagering partners currently bet into Hong Kong pools and World Pool, with 84 of the IFHA Top 100 Group 1 races set to form part of World Pool in the 2024/25 season.

Executives cite promotional and financial benefits

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive of the HKJC, said World Pool had delivered deeper liquidity, improved odds certainty and stronger returns for the sport, while also helping combat illegal betting operators. He noted that despite Hong Kong accounting for only 0.7% of the world’s racehorses in training, the territory produced 14 horses in the 2023 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and had 12 races in the IFHA’s Top 100 list.

Michael Fitzsimons, HKJC’s executive director of wagering products, said branding Hong Kong’s premier races under World Pool reflected the operator’s ambition to expand its promotion of top-level international racing to a wider betting audience.

UK and Irish turnover tops £450m for the season

Separately, the HKJC reported that its contribution to British and Irish racecourses through World Pool has reached £50 million since the product’s launch. The 2024 UK and Irish Flat season closed with a record turnover of $424.1m (£48m) generated on 19 October, when a 12-race composite card combining Australian racing with British Champions Day at Ascot produced the highest single-day turnover on record.

Total turnover for the season reached HK$4.6bn (approximately £455m), only marginally down on the HK$4.7bn (approximately £475m) recorded in 2023. Fitzsimons said the figures were consistent with broader betting market trends and pointed to further growth potential from mixed international race cards.

Tote reports value gains for UK and Irish bettors

The UK Tote, HKJC’s exclusive World Pool partner in Britain and Ireland, reported that its Win product beat the industry Starting Price in 55% of races during 2024 World Pool days, matching it on the remainder, and returned on average 9% more. A £1 bet on every winner across British and Irish World Pool days in 2024 would have paid £207.86 more than the Starting Price equivalent, the Tote said, while its Exacta and Trifecta products also outperformed rival forecast and tricast bets in the majority of races.

Alex Frost, chief executive of the UK Tote, said World Pool had become one of the sport’s most important revenue streams and pointed to plans for further World Pool fixtures and customer experience improvements in 2025 under the organisation’s long-term contract with the HKJC.