The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has renewed a five-year World Pool partnership agreement with Ascot Racecourse.
The HKJC and Ascot Racecourse initiated the first World Pool partnership with the UK Tote in 2019, with the new agreement running until 2028.
The agreement will cover the commingling of bets into the World Pool, an integrity feed and other information which the HKJC will be permitted to transmit at its racecourses and betting outlets in Hong Kong, or re-transmit to television and radio broadcasters as well as mobile phone operators.
“World Pool offers the best international racing for customers across the globe,” said HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “The five-year renewal of the agreement with Ascot Racecourse demonstrates the Club’s strong commitment to our World Pool partnership and underlines an unwavering belief in the benefits of World Pool for horseracing internationally.
“In the four years since we launched World Pool at Royal Ascot, the Club has forged – and enhanced – a host of World Pool partnerships around the world and we are delighted at the significant progress achieved so far.”
Total World Pool turnover from last weekend’s Royal Ascot meeting hit HK$1.5 billion (£154 million), just below last year’s $1.6 billion total, with Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes breaking the record for single race turnover in a World Pool race with $66.2 million bet.
“The Club looks forward to working closely with Ascot in the future with a mutual goal of delivering benefits to horseracing globally, enabling our partners to make significant investments in horseracing, while also delivering world-class entertainment for our customers, who are able to enjoy unmatched liquidity and value from commingling partners in 25 countries and regions,” added Engelbrecht-Bresges.
Ascot Racecourse CEO Alastair Warwick commented: “Our relationship with the Hong Kong Jockey Club is an amazing partnership and shows how global the sport is becoming. I couldn’t be happier with the support that Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and the team at the Hong Kong Jockey Club have provided.
“This is our fifth year of doing World Pool – the time has flown by. As one of the key instigators, it really doesn’t feel like it was five years ago that we were doing our first World Pool.”
HKJC executive director of wagering products Michael Fitzsimons added: “The partnership is great for us, for Ascot and for racing generally around the world.
“The continuity of big brands working together for the benefit of racing has been really important in bringing familiarity of the product, and of the betting markets, to customers around the globe. Working together to really promote racing in a truly global sense has been brilliant for everybody.”