Chief Executive John Lee has hailed horse racing as a unique cultural symbol of Hong Kong and a key driver to the city’s mega event economy.

He was at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday to attend a ceremony ushering in new racing season and present the trophy for the Chief Executive's Cup.

Writing in a Facebook post, Lee said the season opener attracted both local racing fans and visitors.

He also said a surge in mainland and overseas tourists in the last racing season demonstrated the results of government’s efforts to promote horse racing tourism.

“In the last season, more than 400,000 mainland and overseas tourists were drawn to the Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses, doubling the figure from the previous season,” Lee said.

“This not only demonstrated the strong appeal of the racecourse experience – which combines top-class racing with dining and entertainment – to global travellers, but also reflected the results of the government’s efforts to promote horse racing tourism since it was set out in the 2024 Policy Address.”

Lee added that the SAR government will continue to attract tourists through mega events.

Some tourists said they came to the Sha Tin Racecourse to support "Ka Ying Rising" – one of the world's top sprinters and the winner of the Chief Executive's Cup.

"I've heard it's the greatest sprinter, that's what I've been told back at home and was told that 'Ka Ying Rising' is the one horse to come and see and we were fortunate to be here on opening weekend and we had very good time with that," said Sophia, a tourist from Sydney.

"We're going to The Everest which is next month and we know that 'Ka Ying Rising' will also be racing there. So very excited to see 'Ka Ying Rising' both here in Sha Tin and both back home in Sydney," another tourist Ethan said.

"Ka Ying Rising", under the saddle of Australian ace Zac Purton and trained by David Hayes, blew away the field in the 1,200-metre Chief Executive's Cup in a devastating time of 1min 6.11secs, setting a new course record.

This was also its 21st straight win.

Also on Sunday, a number of local horses were looking to make their presence felt on the world stage but came up short.

"Fast Network" was a disappointing 15th in the Centaur Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan, while three Hong Kong entries – "Gorgeous Win", "Self Improvement" and "Beauty Waves" – also finished unplaced at the Korea Sprint in Seoul.


Edited by Edmond Fong