ENG-2016 — Page 377

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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

potential and cultivate positive attitudes through sport, and to facilitate their integration into the community. The association's training programme caters for all levels of ability. It organised many competitions in 2016 and filled more than 50,000 places at sports training sessions.

Intellectually disabled athletes won 176 medals during the year, comprising 79 golds, 59 silvers and 38 bronzes. They made the most of the many international competitions they took part in to sharpen their skills and bring glory to Hong Kong. Highlights included three golds, four silvers and four bronzes at the 2016 Inas Swimming Championships - Asia in Pathum Thani, Thailand; four golds, one silver and one bronze at the British Para Swimming International Meet 2016 in Glasgow; one gold, two silvers and two bronzes at the 2016 ITTF PTT China Open in Beijing; two golds and two bronzes at the 2016 III. Para TT Open Ciutat del Prat in El Prat de Llobregat, Spain; one gold and one bronze in the intellectual disability division at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; two golds, two silvers and one bronze at the PTT Thailand Open 2016 in Pattaya; and one gold and one silver at the 2016 PTT US Open 2016 in Las Vegas. The athletes also competed in the 2016 Inas World Indoor Athletics Championships in Ancona, Italy, and the 2016 IPC Athletics Grand Prix - Italian Open Championships in Grosseto.

Hong Kong athletes also achieved excellent results at the Special Olympics Golf Masters 2016 in Macao, China, the 2016 SOEA Regional Badminton Competition in Anhui, China, and the Special Olympics Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Invitational Games in Hong Kong, China.

Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to the overall betterment of the Hong Kong community. Founded in 1884 as a membership club to promote racing and riding, today it operates an integrated business model of racing and racecourse entertainment, membership, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution. This enables the club to generate substantial economic and social value for Hong Kong.

In 2015-16, the club returned 78.6 per cent of its wagering and lottery revenue to Hong Kong, paying $20.9 billion in tax to government and donating $3.9 billion to 215 charity and community projects. It is the territory's largest single taxpayer, contributing 7.2 per cent of all taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department in 2015-16. It is also one of the world's largest charity donors.

Horse racing is Hong Kong's most popular spectator sport, attracting a total attendance of two million in 2015-16. Hong Kong racing is also increasingly popular around the world, with all 88 race meetings now broadcast live to Australia, Canada, Macao, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and parts of Europe. Fundamental to this success is the high standard of training and horse care, the recruitment of world-class trainers and jockeys, and the import of quality horses by the club's horse-owning members. As a result, Hong Kong is now home to 11 international Group One races, including the Hong Kong International Races, widely regarded as the Turf World Championships. All 11 races ranked in the World's Top 100 Group One/Grade One Races for 2016, with nine being in the top 50. Hong Kong also had a record 26 horses in the World's Best Racehorse Rankings for

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