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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

The 34.5-metre aluminium-hulled, three-masted, traditional-rig Jockey Club Huan accommodates up to 60 people. She is equipped with modern navigational devices in addition to various amenities and barrier-free training facilities tailored for trainees with disabilities.

The junk plies within Hong Kong waters, and each training trip lasts one to three days. The training regime is designed carefully to cope with different weather conditions and the special needs of young people with different aptitudes and backgrounds. Guided by instructors, participants become members of the ship's supplementary crew and work alongside their peers, learning to face challenges and be self-reliant. The exercises also foster camaraderie and team spirit.

Hong Kong Jockey Club

As the pandemic shut down much professional sport around the world, the Hong Kong Jockey Club continued racing, in line with government requirements and through strict health measures. The guiding principles were to protect public health and the health of customers, employees and racing personnel. A 'racing bubble' was established, with regular testing of key personnel, racecourse attendance limits, temperature checks and social distancing.

Though this necessitated a significant reduction in racecourse attendance, and the closure of Off-Course Betting Branches and the Mark Six lottery for much of the year, not a single race was lost. The Hong Kong International Races attracted top horses and leading jockeys from overseas. Hong Kong's only international sporting event of the year, the races earned accolades around the world and showcased the 'can-do' spirit of the city.

Hong Kong maintained a high standard of racing throughout the year. Nine of its 12 international Group One races featured in the World's Top 100 Group One/Grade One Races for 2020. Hong Kong also had 17 horses in the World's Best Racehorse Rankings, including Golden Sixty, equal 10th in the rankings and joint-third best miler in the world.

Maintaining racing also ensured the continuity of an important part of Hong Kong's sporting life, as well as providing stay-at-home entertainment. The club continued to contribute to society through its unique integrated business model of racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community

contribution.

In 2019-20, the club returned 73.8 per cent of its wagering and lottery revenue to Hong Kong and donated 96 per cent of its operating surplus to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The club paid $23.3 billion in tax to the government and $0.8 billion to the Lotteries Fund, while the trust approved $4.5 billion in donations to 210 projects. The club is one of the world's top 10 charity donors and Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, contributing 6.6 per cent of all taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department in 2019-20.

The club's world-class technology, in particular its digital platform and apps, enabled the club to maintain a full wagering service throughout the pandemic. Commingling, where the club is a world leader, also saw significant growth, with 19.4 per cent of racing turnover coming from

overseas.

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