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organisations. The club is Hong Kong's only authorised operator of horse racing, managing racecourses at Happy Valley and Sha Tin as well as three public riding schools. It also operates the Mark Six lottery and offers betting on overseas football matches.
The club is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, contributing $12.98 billion to the public purse in 2008-09, or about 6.8 per cent of all taxes collected during the year. It is also one of the city's largest employers, with more than 26 000 full- and part-time staff.
In addition, the club is a major community benefactor, operating under a unique, not-for-profit business model, with its surpluses given to charity. In 2008-09 it donated more than $1.37 billion to some 100 local charity and community projects through the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
The club works closely with the Government to promote responsible gambling policies and to tackle illegal betting. Since implementation of a betting duty reform package in 2006 and the addition of five more local race days and 15 simulcast days for 2009-10 season, the club has achieved some success in regaining revenue from illegal and offshore bookmakers, but this remains a matter of concern. Discussions. are now under way on further measures to maintain the club's competitiveness in the light of the growing number of alternative gambling opportunities in the region.
The club has long supported sports development in Hong Kong. In late 2008, it committed funding of $50 million to support the Hong Kong Jockey Club Equestrian Team and a new junior team for the next four years. This support bore fruit in the 11th National Games in October 2009 when Hong Kong's riders, comprising four members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club equestrian teams, claimed a team bronze medal and an individual gold and bronze in the Games.
The club also played a role in Hong Kong's successful staging of the 2009 East Asian Games, committing funding of $40 million to cover training and support for a volunteer programme, the construction of The Hong Kong Jockey Club International BMX Park in Kwai Chung as one of the competition venues and a subsidy scheme for student tickets.
The club has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and the Guangzhou Municipal Government on the Asian Games Equestrian Events Venue Construction, Technical Support and Post-Asian Games Utilisation. This joint venture will not only enhance the two cities' experience of staging large-scale events but also provide the club with the necessary horse training facilities after the Games to ensure its sustainable development.
The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races held at Sha Tin Racecourse each December have become widely recognised as the Turf World Championship, with four International Group One events being staged on a single day for a total purse of $62 million. The 2009 International Races attracted 31 top thoroughbreds from eight countries, with Hong Kong-trained horses taking the honours in two of