Hong Kong International Races

Every December, Sha Tin Racecourse hosts the biggest single day of racing in Asia. The Hong Kong International Races bring together four Group 1 events on one card, each at a different distance, so sprinters, milers, middle-distance horses and stayers all get a target. Overseas runners ship in from Japan, Europe, Australia and elsewhere to take on the local Hong Kong horses, and the day is widely treated as the climax of the local racing calendar. If you want the wider picture of racing in the city, see horse racing in Hong Kong.

The four Group 1 races: distances and prize money

The four races cover the full spread of turf distances, and each carries a different purse¹:

That is HK$130 million across the four races on a single afternoon, which puts the meeting among the richest in the world. Prize money at this level is not new: the purses have climbed steadily over the years, from HK$20 million for the Cup in the late 2000s to HK$22 million in 2012, HK$25 million in 2015, and HK$40 million today⁴. The Mile followed the same path, rising to HK$23 million in 2015 and then to HK$36 million in 2024⁶. For context, Group 1 races in Hong Kong generally range from HK$13 million to HK$40 million, and Group 3 races offer HK$4.2 million¹.

Money is paid down to sixth place in each race. In the Cup, for example, the split runs HK$22,400,000 for the winner, HK$8,400,000 for second, HK$4,600,000 for third, HK$2,400,000 for fourth, HK$1,400,000 for fifth and HK$800,000 for sixth².

Longines Hong Kong Cup: HK$40 million over 2000m

The Cup is the flagship of the day: 2000m on turf, open to horses aged three and up, and the richest race run in Hong Kong². The 2026 edition is set for December 13 at Sha Tin¹.

The winner's check of HK$22,400,000 (about US$2,857,000) is one of the biggest single prizes in world racing, and even sixth place earns HK$800,000². The race has a history of attracting genuine international stars, with Japanese and European middle-distance horses regularly making the trip.

The entry path is straightforward. Free entries for the 2026 Cup close on November 2, 2026, the same deadline for overseas and Hong Kong horses¹. Connections who miss that can pay for a supplementary entry; in past editions the supplementary stage closed in late November for a fee of HK$250,000⁸. The field is capped at 14 runners⁹, and final declarations to run are due at 8 am Hong Kong time on December 10, 2026, with the barrier draw made the same day². A withdrawal after declaration carries a fee, which has been HK$200,000 in past runnings¹⁰.

There is also a long-standing extra incentive: a special bonus of HK$1,000,000 has been paid to the owner of a horse that wins an international race in December and then goes on to take the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin in the spring⁷.

Longines Hong Kong Mile: HK$36 million over 1600m

The Mile is the 1600m leg of the day and, at HK$36 million, one of the highest-prize turf mile races anywhere¹. The winner takes HK$20,160,000, with HK$7,560,000 for second, HK$4,140,000 for third, HK$2,160,000 for fourth, HK$1,260,000 for fifth and HK$720,000 for sixth¹¹.

The race has a reputation as a specialist miler's contest, and Hong Kong has traditionally been very strong at the distance, which makes it one of the hardest of the four for visiting horses to win. The entry and declaration schedule matches the Cup: free entries by November 2, 2026, declarations at 8 am on December 10, and the barrier draw the same day¹.

Longines Hong Kong Sprint: HK$28 million over 1200m

The Sprint is the 1200m dash, worth HK$28 million, with the winner earning HK$15,680,000. The remaining places pay HK$5,880,000, HK$3,220,000, HK$1,680,000 and HK$980,000 down to fifth¹¹.

Six furlongs around Sha Tin is a sharp, tactical test, and like the Mile it is a race where local sprinters have often held the upper hand against the visitors. Entries and declarations follow the same calendar as the other three races¹.

Longines Hong Kong Vase: HK$26 million over 2400m

The Vase is the staying race, 2400m on turf, with a purse of HK$26 million (about US$3,300,000)¹¹. The winner receives HK$14,560,000, and the race pays down through HK$5,460,000 for second, HK$2,990,000 for third, HK$1,560,000 for fourth and HK$910,000 for fifth¹¹.

Because Hong Kong's own program has few genuine staying races, the Vase is the leg of the day most often won by overseas horses, particularly European and Japanese stayers at the end of their campaigns. The declaration fee for the Vase has historically been slightly lower than the other races, at HK$165,000 in one recent edition, with a late supplementary entry fee of HK$150,000¹³.

How horses get into the fields

Getting into an international race at Sha Tin is a selection process, not just an entry form. Free entries for all four 2026 races close on November 2, 2026, for both overseas and Hong Kong horses¹. A selection panel then considers each horse's form up to a cutoff date in late November before announcing the fields¹². For the 2026 Cup, the selection announcement is scheduled for November 25, 2026².

A few rules matter to connections:

• Fields are capped at 14 runners per race⁹.
• Once the list of selected horses is officially announced, a horse cannot switch to another of the four races, so the choice of distance is final¹⁵.
• Supplementary entries are possible after the free stage, for a fee, closing in late November⁸.
• Final declarations close at 8 am Hong Kong time on the Thursday before the race, with the barrier draw held the same day².

Betting on race day: pools and World Pool

Betting on the international races goes through the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which offers pari-mutuel pools and fixed odds bet types on its races³. The basic pools are the ones you will see on every Sha Tin card: WIN and PLACE, plus combination bets like QUINELLA, QUINELLA PLACE, FORECAST, TIERCE, TRIO, FIRST 4 and QUARTET, along with DOUBLE and DOUBLE TRIO pools linking races¹⁶. If you are new to these, the bet types guide breaks each one down.

To give a feel for the numbers, in the 2023 Hong Kong Cup the PLACE dividends paid HK$12.50, HK$23.00 and HK$37.50 on the three placed horses, the QUINELLA PLACE paid HK$42.00, the FORECAST HK$113.00, the TIERCE HK$1,087.00, the TRIO HK$369.00, the FIRST 4 HK$569.00 and the QUARTET HK$5,607.00¹⁶. Those are per-HK$10-unit dividends in the pari-mutuel style, where the payout depends on how much money is in each pool.

Because the international races draw a worldwide audience, HKJC pools on them are commingled with overseas operators into very large shared pools, which is what the term World Pool refers to: bets placed in Hong Kong and abroad feed the same pool, which means bigger liquidity and more stable dividends than a single-country pool could offer. In Singapore, for example, Singapore Pools offers totalisator betting on Hong Kong races, and its Roll Win bet shares the same betting pool as the Hong Kong WIN bet¹⁹.

One point on legality, said once and plainly: within Hong Kong, betting with anyone other than the HKJC, including offshore websites registered elsewhere, is against the law, and the HKJC is the only authorized operator of horse race betting in the city¹⁷. Visitors can bet at the track, at off-course branches, or through HKJC channels while in Hong Kong; if you are planning a trip around racing, see gambling in Hong Kong as a visitor.

Practical notes for a first visit

The whole meeting runs on one Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin, in the New Territories¹. Race days at Sha Tin typically start around 12:30 pm, with the four Group 1 races spread through the card and the Cup as the feature near the end²². Arrive early if you want a good spot, because this is the best-attended meeting of the Hong Kong year.

Related races and events

The international races do not stand alone. Hong Kong also stages three international Group 2 races that serve as lead-ups on the same track a few weeks earlier: the Longines Jockey Club Cup, the BOCHK Jockey Club Mile and the BOCHK Jockey Club Sprint, each over the same distance as its December counterpart²³. Those November races are where you can see the local contenders and many of the visitors before the big day.

Later in the season, the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup in February is another 2000m feature at Sha Tin, with free entries closing in early February for overseas horses and mid-February for Hong Kong horses¹. Other highlights of the local calendar include Champions Day, the Hong Kong Triple Crown series and the Hong Kong Derby, and the week before the international races the International Jockeys' Championship brings visiting riders to Happy Valley.