The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is celebrating two new initiatives this week.
Eight To Glory, presented by Lenovo
On Wednesday 8 July, the HKJC will host an ‘Eight To Glory, presented by Lenovo’ event at Happy Valley.
The event will see eight jockeys take to the field, representing the final eight football teams who have made it through to the quarter-finals.
Casper Stylsvig, HKJC Executive Director, said: “Horse racing has always been about national pride and so is football.
“With ‘Eight to Glory’, we want to bring those two worlds together in a way only The Hong Kong Jockey Club can. Eight horses will line up under the spotlights on the turf, each ridden by a jockey who is trading traditional silks for iconic football jerseys, each supporting a nation that will enter the quarter-final round of the iconic tournament which will commence the next day.
“This is not just another race. We wanted to do something the sporting world has never seen during the world’s biggest sporting event.”
The HKJC will also donate to eight charity organisations which were chosen by the racehorse owners.
Guangdong Qualifications Framework
In other news, the HKJC has integrated six Certificate Racing Programs into the Guangdong Qualifications Framework.
The HKJC opened a Horse Racing Culture Courtyard at the Guangdong Vocational Institute of Sport to support the courses.
Andrew Harding, HKJC Executive Director of Racing, commented that the Club’s professional expertise in talent development for the national equine industry and serves as an outstanding example of Hong Kong’s vocational education gaining recognition in Guangdong.
The courses will support students who want to become professionals in the horseracing scene.
Recently, the Club also took part in the annual Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade.
The Water Parade began over a century ago when the region was struck by the plague and was seen as a way to purify the community. As such, the Water Parade is inscribed onto the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
The HKJC and Guangdong Vocational Institute of Sport has worked together since 2018 to foster talent in the equine industry
