The popularity of Greyhound Racing has been increasing over recent years with attendances at tracks reaching four million a year. There are 31 licensed greyhound tracks in the UK. According to the gambling commission up to 4% of the adult population in Britain bet on greyhound races. This compares to 13% gambling on horse races. Turnover on gambling in general has been seen a dramatic increase up to £53 billion in 03/04. The rise of online gambling has made betting on greyhound racing quicker and simpler than ever before.

Every night of the week greyhound racing can be seen at one of the following venues : Belle Vue (Manchester), Brighton, Brough Park (Newcastle), Coventry, Crayford Glasgow, Gretna, Hall Green (Birmingham), Harlow, Henlow, Hull, Kinsley, Mildenhall, Milton Keynes, Meadow Court, Nottingham, Oxford, Rye House (Hoddesdon), Perry Barr (Birmingham), Peterborough, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Romford, Sheffield, Sittingbourne, Sunderland, Swindon, Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton and Yarmouth.

Racing also takes place during the day at BAGS meetings – Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service. These meetings are also included in the GreyhoundPredictions tipster service. They were set up for off course bookmakers to offer betting during the day.

Greyhound Racing began in its current form in the UK in 1926 at Manchester’s purpose built Belle Vue stadium. The sport was an almost instant success after its import from America.

Each greyhound is assigned a class chosen from the best time the dog achieves in trials. The class is chosen that gives the dog a good chance of winning against greyhounds with similar ability. Open Race grade (OR) races allow any grade of dog to race. For graded races the system is to assign a letter prefix for the distance of the race, ie A represents a distance of 470m at Belle Vue, and a number for the grade, 1 being the highest, giving A1 for the fastest dogs over 470m down to A9 for the slower dogs at Belle Vue stadium.

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A short film made for the 48 Hours of Hell competition. *We took 2nd place at the film festival* Special thanks to the Cutting Room Productions team: David Brian Mike Vinay Andrew Jonathan and Vincent

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A contributor to the free automated greyhound racing tipster site

www.greyhoundpredictions.co.uk”

Thoroughbred horse racing in Hong Kong is a pivotal part not only of many lives but it is vital to the economy, contributing massive taxes and being the major supporter of most charities. Thoroughbred racing in Hong Kong is therefore naturally followed far more passionately than anywhere else in the world.

Hong Kong has two race courses, the main one situated at Shatin is a first class track with facilities equal to any track in the world. A big track with both turf and dirt surfaces and a straight 1200m, statistics show that horses get every chance to win from whatever draw.

However Happy Valley where the lesser grade Wednesday night races are held has to be the most spectacular race track in existence. To understand the full impact of this place you need to make the effort to go and experience it.

Situated on the island amidst major housing and retail complexes, Happy Valley is surrounded by the lights of multi level apartment blocks. It is a relatively small track which affords spectators a close up view of the races giving an I can not believe this place feel to visitors.
Tourists can also visit the Hong Kong Racing Museum at Happy Valley, which provides a fascinating historical insight into how the sport has evolved since its mid-19th century beginnings.

Over the last 15 years or so the quality of Hong Kong thoroughbred racing has developed substantially and nowadays it is difficult to imagine a more cosmopolitan racing circuit than can be experienced here. The prize money is so substantial that the champion riders and trainers from France, England, Australia and South Africa all eagerly vie for the few invitations to ride in Hong Kong. In fact the roster of riders in Hong Kong reads like an Academy Award nomination list for the best jockeys in the world.

Fourteen Group 1 races are run in Hong Kong each season, with the Hong Kong International Race day in December being the richest and most important meeting of the year. The Hong Kong International Races are now generally recognized to be the most international event in the racing world and the main meeting point for northern and southern hemisphere thoroughbreds.

Today the international event has been transformed into a set of four races: the Hong Kong International Sprint over 1200m, the Hong Kong Mile over 1600m, the Hong Kong Cup over 2000m and the Hong Kong Vase over 2400m.

The Champions Mile is on April 29, run at 1600 meters over the Shatin turf course and is already part of an international racing series, the Asian Mile Challenge, which comprises the Futurity in Australia, the Dubai Duty Free, the Champions Mile, and the Yasuda Kinen in Japan, all Group 1 races.

The standard of local thoroughbreds has also risen dramatically as can be seen by the number of hotly contested international races now taken out by locals even in the presence of top echelon European, American, Japanese and Australian thoroughbreds.

With a population of around 1,100 thoroughbreds from around the globe, Hong Kong racing works under an easy to understand handicap system, where gallopers gain or lose rating points from their performance on the racecourse, resulting in close and competitive racing.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a monopoly on racing and betting in the territory, a holdover from colonial days, and the HKJC is the territories largest taxpayer and charity. Massive betting pools are involved and Hong Kong racing officials understand that it is imperative to share every piece of information there is with the betting public.

The racing club website has easily the best information I have ever seen with full videos and extensive reporting of every race held. Trackwork data, performance history, weights carried, times, everything is easily found and exhaustively detailed.

To summarise, for any thoroughbred racing enthusiast Hong Kong racing is an absolute must see experience. The city is situated on one of the most spectacular harbors imaginable, hotels are plentiful and first class and the shopping and gastronomic delights are legendary.

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Yello vs Kraftwerk – The Race (razormaid!), Sigla iniziale del programma televisivo Chiambretti Night.

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Dick Aronson has been heavily involved in Thoroughbred racing,breeding and buying for more than 30 years. He has developed his own proprietary software for selecting horses and articles on his work have several times been published in the HK Racing World magazine.Go to Consultlink Thoroughbreds