Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and President of the Asian Equestrian Federation, spoke during the opening session of the Equestrian Championship that has survived the pandemic years but is now facing challenges. face a tough challenge to keep up with competitors’ technology and betting patterns. The 39th Asian Racing Conference on February 15 in Melbourne, Australia.
More than 700 racing personalities from 35 countries around the world gathered for the conference, the industry’s largest global gathering event.
Key performance indicators, including average gain, year-over-year revenue, betting revenue and, in some jurisdictions, skyrocketing bonuses, suggest resilience, Engelbrecht-Bresges said. industry, said Engelbrecht-Bresges.
“However, beyond these numbers, the race will face significant future global challenges, which, in my view, cannot be solved without fundamental changes and increased growth. strengthen cooperation as well as joint efforts to address these challenges,” he said.
Engelbrecht-Bresges identified nine key challenges: Industry fragmentation, integrity, illegal and foreign betting operators, social acceptance, competition from other sports , an aging customer base and Gen Y and Z appeal, branding of racing as a global sport and sustainability and human capital.
He went back to calling for more cooperation to solve all of those problems.
“Most of the challenges we face can only be solved when we work together in a more strategic way and overcome the fragmented way of racing, at the national, regional and international levels,” he said. Global”.
He cites the role of the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a key driver and organizer of the rapidly growing “World Swimming Pool”, which unites betting on many of the most popular races globally.
Engelbrecht-Bresges noted in an interview during the Hong Kong International Race in December that participation in World Billiards depends on individual jurisdictions adhering to the general rules regarding placing bets. bet and collect information.
Engelbrecht-Bresges told ARC delegates during the second session: “Global liquidity is key for all pari-mutuel operators and for racing industry revenue as well as racing betting updates. vehicle, integrated protocols for the global platform are required”.
Michael Fitzsimons, HKJC’s managing director of staking products, thinks that improved technology can create homogeneity, which in turn will enhance global liquidity.
“Significant changes to the protocols are needed to enable a wider variety of exotic products and synchronize staking limit times with all operators to ensure trust,” Fitzsimons said. client”.
The ARC has been postponed for a year because of the pandemic and the meeting in Melbourne is the first since 2020 in Cape Town.
This was preceded by working group meetings with the ARF Executive Council, the ARF General Assembly, the International Regulatory Conference, the Asian Model Commission, the Asia and Oceania Seed Book Committee, and the International for the care of racehorses.
Engelbrecht-Bresges was unanimously re-elected by the Executive Council as President of the ARF, a position he held for more than 10 years. The Asian Equestrian Federation is officially affiliated with the International Federation of Equestrian Organizations as Hong Kong, Japan and Australia hold permanent seats on the IFHA Executive Council.
Engelbrecht-Bresges is also the chairman of that Executive Council.
