Hong Kong's law on broadcast horse racing has been amended so that a maximum of 12 races can be shown in one day, according to a racing column published in the Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily on December 28, 20231. The column states the change carries a time limit, which it puts at about five and a half hours1.
The column, by 張福元, describes the rule in the context of a comparison with Japanese racing. It says that on the previous Sunday, Japan held its season-ending meeting and ran a full 12 races locally, while Hong Kong could broadcast only seven1. It attributes the gap to the time limit rather than the race cap, noting that a Hong Kong race day of 11 races still runs under six hours1.
"法例已改為一天最多可播十二場，但有時限，應是五小時半"
The column says Japanese race meetings start in the morning and include a break for lunch, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club does not want a long gap in the card, so only the seven races after lunch are broadcast1. It adds that Hong Kong racing has run without a mid-card break since the professional era, in contrast to the amateur era, when the annual flagship meeting ran 10 races split into two halves: a noon start, a lunch break after the fourth race at 1:30pm, and a resumption at 2:30pm for the fifth1. It notes that the Happy Valley public stand had no food and drink at the time, so racegoers walked out into the surrounding district to eat1. In the 1970s, with a 2pm start, many would arrive early in the district to eat and study the form, the column says1.
| Item | Figure given |
|---|---|
| Maximum races broadcast per day under the amended law | 121 |
| Time limit stated for the broadcast window | About five and a half hours1 |
| Races run at the Japanese season-ending meeting | 121 |
| Races Hong Kong broadcast from that meeting | 71 |
| Races in a Hong Kong race day | 111 |
The column does not give the date the amendment took effect, the ordinance or provision changed, or the exact wording of the time limit. Those details have not been reported in the column1.
What it means for players
For anyone betting on Hong Kong racing, the practical effect described is on how much of a foreign meeting can be shown on a Hong Kong race day. The column says the cap is now 12 races a day but that the roughly five and a half hour window is what keeps the number shown lower in practice, with only the post-lunch races carried1. That matters for bettors who follow overseas meetings such as Japan's, since the races run before the local lunch break are the ones the column says fall outside the broadcast1. The column does not say whether the limit applies to simulcast betting as well as to broadcast, or whether it changes anything about betting on Hong Kong's own local cards, which the column says run 11 races in under six hours1. No change to bet types, pools or takeout is mentioned1.
What happens next
No next steps are set out in the column. It does not state whether further changes to the broadcast limit are planned, or when the amended rule took effect1.
Sources1 sources
- 張氏理論│賽日曾設放飯時段 | 星島日報, std.stheadline.com
