Hong Kong Jockey Club continues to step up on its wagering customer entertainment offerings ahead of the 2018/19 racing season, which is set to kick off with a bang on Sunday, 2 September.

In a press briefing held today, Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director, Customer and International Business Development, said his team will further build on previous years’ successes and will launch a series of new initiatives in different areas, including an enriched digital experience, new initiatives for Priority Cards holders, Racecourse/OCBB renovation and commingling development.

Digital Transformation of Customer Experience

When it comes to applying digital innovation to enhance wagering entertainment, the Hong Kong Jockey Club leads the world. In the new season, racing fans can enjoy two new innovative features in the HKJC TV App:

The first new feature is ‘Live Position’, which enables customers to track the running position and distance behind the leading horse while watching TV broadcasting at home or at the racecourse.  This feature relies on an innovative Digital Watermarking technology.

Secondly, HKJC TV will offer “uninterrupted second screen” views of horses and personalities at the Parade Ring and at the track entrance.  These views are currently not available on TV due to the limitations of serial broadcasting.

Besides HKJC TV, Racing Touch, one of the Club’s core betting Apps, will feature Daily track videos for the convenience of racing fans starting in February 2019.  This will allow for a better viewing experience than the current PC-based website.

Also, ‘Gift at Races’ will launch its online shop www.giftatraces.com in September.   Overseas racing fans who follow Hong Kong Racing but may be unable to come to Hong Kong will find this mobile-friendly website very useful.

Priority Card New Initiatives

The Club will launch a new mobile-friendly Priority Card website platform offering improved navigation, points checking, reward selection and redemption for Priority Card Customers. The programme will be expanded with a new Yellow-card tier during the season.

Racecourse & OCBB (Off-Course Betting Branches) Renovation

To improve the race going experience, the public betting hall on G/F of Happy Valley Racecourse – The Farrier – has been revamped and the roof deck garden on 2M/F of Sha Tin Racecourse has been expanded for both racing fans and leisure customers. Also, five OCBBs are to be renovated in the new season, of which Mong Kok Nathan Centre OCBB will be transformed into a 14,000 sq.ft mega branch with four storeys and a 260–seat theatre and media hall.

Five OCBBs are to be renovated in the new season

Mong Kok Nathan Centre OCBB

Commingling Development

Commingling continues to be a key growth driver for turnover, totaling HK$16.5 billion last season, which represents a 1.5 times increase from the previous year. The high quality and integrity of the sport and the strong liquidity of the betting pool in Hong Kong continue to attract overseas customers. The Club is delighted to have a new commingling partner from USA to join us in the new season.

As previously announced, the Club will also launch a new Ascot World Pool for Royal Ascot in partnership with Ascot and Totepool. The newly-established, pari-mutuel-based World Pool will offer a strong value proposition on the Royal Ascot meeting to customers in both the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. It also further positions Hong Kong as the international hub of commingling.

Last but not least, racing fans hoping to land a big score can enjoy a $50 million season opening mega prize to get the season off to a prosperous start.  Jackpots across various exotic bet types will include a HK$18 million Triple Trio jackpot each at the Sha Tin day meeting on 2 September  and the Happy Valley night meeting  on 5 September.

For enquiries, please call the HKJC’s Customer Hotline 1817 or visit www.hkjc.com. All racegoers and customers must be aged 18 or above.

Attachments – Fact sheets on all item detailed

Pre-season Press Briefing – New Marketing and Customer Service Initiatives Photo Release