Hong Kong racing has long been a landmark of the successful implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong, making important contributions to the economy and livelihood of the city. In 2023/24, The Hong Kong Jockey Club (“the Club”) returned a total of HK$40.1 billion to the community, including HK$29.9 billion to the HKSAR Government in betting duties, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contributions. Excluding the Lotteries Fund contributions, the Club contributed to a significant 8.3% of the total taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department in the 2023/24 year of assessment, and HK$10.2 billion in approved charity donations. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is one of the world’s leading charity donors.
Photo source：The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The horse racing sport in Hong Kong has enjoyed increasing popularity among tourists, many of who love the Happy Wednesday at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesdays as well as the race meetings in Sha Tin on Sundays/Saturdays. In Season 2023/24, we have received a total of 93,000 tourist arrivals. In the first two months of this racing season, there have been more than 27,000 visitor arrivals to our racecourses. Apart from exciting races, the two racecourses also have a variety of catering offers and engaging on-course entertainment activities to provide an enriched experience that fuses racing and entertainment for the racegoers.
Photo source：The Hong Kong Jockey Club
In Season 2024/25, the Club will be hosting 88 local racedays, including 12 Group 1 races.
The Club maintains on-going communication with the HKSAR Government in actively promoting horse racing tourism. With the aim of providing convenience to families and tourists to experience the horse racing sport and on-course entertainment facilities in an orderly manner, the Club is in discussion with relevant authorities to explore ways to expand the current arrangements to allow Owners and Member guests to bring their family members under the age of 18 to the racecourses on a limited basis.
Photo source：The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Club has been in strict adherence to the Responsible Gambling Policy, and has stringent underage access controls across all betting channels. The real threat to Hong Kong comes from illegal bookmakers. They do not impose any age restrictions to gamblers, posing serious threat to responsible gambling.
The Club also notes that many racecourses overseas, such as Japan and Australia, allow underage admission. Tokyo Racecourse even blended in horse-related education element. We will fully support and commence discussions with the relevant government departments including Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Tourism Commission, and Hong Kong Tourism Board as well as other industry stakeholders to take horse racing tourism forward.
The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM) has received approval from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to donate HK$49.6 million to establish the Jockey Club Institute for Medical Education and Development (JCIMED), and support a five-year training program. The Institute was officially established on 1 November 2024 to strengthen the development of postgraduate medical education.
The HKAM held the inauguration ceremony of the Jockey Club Institute for Medical Education and Development today (27 November 2024). Officiating at the ceremony were Ms. ImeldaChan, Head of Charities (Positive Ageing & Elderly Care, and Healthy Community) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Professor Gilberto Leung, President of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Professor Philip Li, Vice-President (Education and Examinations) of the Hong KongAcademy of Medicine, and Dr Benny Cheng, Honorary Director of the Jockey Club Institute forMedical Education and Development. The presence of these guests not only demonstrates the importance attached to the development of medical education, but also shows the common vision of all walks of life to improve the quality of medical education.
4 Officiating Guests: Ms. Imelda Chan, Head of Charities (Positive Ageing & Elderly Care, and Healthy Community) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (2nd from left), Prof. Gilberto Leung,President of the HKAM (2nd from right), Prof. Philip Li, Vice-President (Education and Examinations) of the HKAM (1st from left), and Dr. Benny Cheng, Honorary Director of the JCIMED (1st from right) attended inauguration ceremony of JCIMED.
The HKAM has been committed to promoting the development of postgraduate medical education and continuing medical education. On the occasion of its 30th anniversary in 2023, the Academy held a tripartite medical education conference with two local medical schools early last year, followed by the Strategic Planning Retreat on Education and Training 2023, and published the " Hong Kong Academy of Medicine- Position Paper on Postgraduate Medical Education 2023" (link) in September 2023. This document confirms the HKAM's unwavering commitment to strengthening medical education by seizing new opportunities and adapting to changes in the profession. The position paper sets out 10 key recommendations, including promoting specialist training, implementing competency-based medical education (CBME), promoting lifelong learning, innovating continuing medical education, improving teaching skills, and implementing quality assurance, which aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of medical education across the board.
The guests took a group photo at the JCIMED Inauguration Ceremony marks a new milestone in medical education for the Academy.
The recommendations in the Position Paper are also the blueprint for the establishment of the Jockey Club Institute for Medical Education and Development, which aims to enhance the standard of medical education and specialist training in Hong Kong, with a focus on building capacity and enhancing quality of medical education to better meet the demand for medical professionals in society. Based on the recommendations of the Position Paper, the JCIMED hasset out the following four new directions:
1. Competency-based Medical Education (CBME): Focuses on equipping specialist trainers and trainees with the principles and skills of continuing workplace-based assessment, providing professional knowledge and resources for effective implementation to ensure the quality and effectiveness of medical education.
The competency-based model, which emphasizes the acquisition of specific competencies rather than the completion of fixed-time training, incorporates continuous assessment and feedback that provides participants with timely suggestions for progress and improvement, and promotes continuous learning and development.
2. Faculty Development: Enhance teaching skills, foster a culture of continuous improvement in medical education, and facilitate experience exchange and professional development among trainers.
3. Continuing Medical Education/Continuous Professional Development (CME/CPD):Practicing a modern approach to lifelong learning for healthcare professionals to ensure that healthcare professionals are able to continuously update their professional knowledge and skills.
4. Quality Assurance: Implement robust systems to maintain high standards in medical education, ensuring that all training courses and activities meet the high standards.
In 2013, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust approved a donation of over HK$53 million to set up the Hong Kong Jockey Club Innovative Learning Centre for Medicine, which enabled local medical professionals and medical students to enhance their medical skills and quality through various situational training and surgical simulations, providing simulation training to more than 30,000 healthcare professionals. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust hasonce again allocated $49.6 million to renovate the facilities of the existing Centre and renamed it to the Jockey Club Institute for Medical Education and Development (JCIMED). In response to the development of medical technology, JCIMED will also introduce extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and other innovative technologies to provide trainees with a more comprehensive and interactive learning experience, and is expected to train more than 4,800 doctors to diagnose, evaluate and analyze patient data. JCIMED will develop training courses to implement CBME, faculty development, and modernise CME/CPD, strengthen research and innovative teaching methods in medical education, with the aim of promoting local medical education and specialist training, and improving the overall quality of medical services in HongKong and the Greater Bay Area.
Ms. Imelda Chan said the establishment of the JCIMED and its related training programs will help respond to the growing demand for specialist training, further enhance the quality of healthcare services in Hong Kong, and enhance the professionalism of healthcare professionals in Hong Kong and the Greater BayArea through enhanced exchanges with the Mainland.
Ms. Imelda Chan, Head of Charities (Positive Ageing & Elderly Care; and Healthy Community) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, "With the changing times and technological advancements, the equipment used in training needs to be updated to keep pace with the development of healthcare services and society. We believe that the establishment of the Jockey Club Institute for Medical Education and Development and its related training programs will help respond to the growing demand for specialist training, further enhance the quality of healthcare services in Hong Kong, and enhance the professionalism of healthcare professionals in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area through enhanced exchanges with the Mainland."
