The Hong Kong Jockey Club's racecourse in Happy Valley.
Photographer: Justin Chin/BloombergHong Kong’s Gambling Empire Is Losing Horsepower
- Jockey Club needs new cash sources as racing revenue declines
- ‘Old-timers’ at home push Hong Kong to seek wagers in U.K., NY
Before Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, Communist leader Deng Xiaoping had a reassuring message for those worried about the departure of the British from the capitalist enclave. Don’t fret, the architect of the handover said: “Horses will still run, stocks will still sizzle, dancers will still dance.”
The dancing has continued, the stock market isn’t far off its record high, and the horses indeed still run. Yet 20 years after the handover to China, one of the city’s most-venerable institutions, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has been called an "ATM for the government" for its huge contributions to the city’s tax coffers and charity efforts, is facing trouble.