HORSE RACING AND THE DEEP IMPACT OF A PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE AIR

Posted on December 25, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

“Princes on steeples and all the pretty people laughing and thinking that they’ve got it made.” Bob Dylan wrote that line in “Like A Rolling Stone.” Talking about this track the other night with a few friends in advertising and the use of music in marketing sparked off a series of What If moments.

What if, for example, Dylan wrote about horse racing. What might he have said? After all, he had leapt to the defence of boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter in song and must have read Dr Hunter S Thompson’s whacked out gonzo day at the Kentucky Derby.

What If? Probably something along the lines of “thundering hooves are galloping through my head/They’re taking me on a journey of mystery/Modern day Knights of The Roundtable/Riding tall on their flying charges/Creating fleeting moments of history.” Something like that…

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Posted in DOUGLAS WHYTE, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, JOAO MOREIRA, zac purton | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RACING TO WIN: THE REVIEW

Posted on December 22, 2017 by

It opens with a montage of graphics that recall such great television moments as “Thunderbirds Are Go” and “Knight Rider” over what sounds like a James Last version of “Band On The Run” before host Andrew Le Jeune, below. appears as usual to let audiences know what’s in store if one is Racing To Win, the HKJC production that just won’t go away. It’s been in Hong Kong for almost four decades and since when that doyen of horse racing Jim McGrath was a young pup.

It’s a tried and true format in television programming for horse racing, and if the wheel ain’t broke, why send it to the glue factory? Plus, new hosts and panels can always make a world of vive le difference.

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Posted in Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, HORSE RACING AND SOCIAL MEDIA | Leave a comment

WHAT KEEPS HORSE RACING ENTERTAINING (EVEN THE GOOFY STUFF)

Posted on December 16, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

Happy Wednesday night was more like a celebration party after the success of HKIR week- a time to just chill and go with the flow. Many did at Adrenaline. We’d never seen anything like it before and really hope we have repeat performances. Bring entertainment to the races and it combines to create that field of dreams. Build it and they will come…

There’s the perception by many that horse racing is all about betting to win and starring the cast from some old Edward G Robinson gangster movie.

Those who criticise what they don’t understand really should make the time to see how much fun- and young- it can be when all the pieces fit. That night, which had an Eighties theme, it was only appropriate that legendary Irish rider Mick Kinane came up to the venue after the last race. There are riders and there are legends. Michael Kinane is a humble, down to earth legend- someone secure in his own skin.

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Posted in DOUGLAS WHYTE, HAPPY WEDNESDAY, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, JOAO MOREIRA, JOHN SIZE, NASH RAWILLER, The horse racing industry, zac purton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE HARD YELL AND HEART SELL OF THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL RACES

Posted on December 11, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

It’s needed a little time to absorb it all. From a business point of view, the Hong Kong International races on Sunday at Sha Tin was a massive success- turnover of over HK$1.6 billion, combined attendance at Sha Tin and cross-betting at Happy Valley reaching over 94,000 and a record HK$194 million in commingled betting from around the world.

There were the winners and those who weren’t so lucky, but above it all, the Longines Hong Kong International Races showed a side to horse racing not always seen: its heart. Its ability to give without asking.

Did the HKJC give racing fans a return on their time and investment? Definitely. And more, especially at a time when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know what the consumer wants as we’re living in a world of such constant change. For example, friends in the hospitality trade and owning restaurants, bars and clubs worry about how their businesses will do from day to day. Why? Choice.

There’s a buffet of consumer choices out there, not just in Hong Kong, but around the world. This means needing to constantly keep reinventing one’s product. The same goes for fashion, music and every leisure activity. It’s tough out there.

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Posted in Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, NASH RAWILLER, The horse racing industry, Tony Cruz, www.fasttrack.hk, zac purton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TODAY #HKIR HAS ARRIVED. AND KEEPING IT REAL LIKE CHRISTINE BOWMAN

Posted on December 9, 2017 by

Sure, the focus is first and foremost on the racing and seeing and finding the winners. But after that last race has been run and many will gather at the Champagne Bar for the annual post-mortem about who did what and who did it better before heading out for dinner, it’s the back stories one will remember- those personal memories.

For myself, there’ll be the meandering conversations that finally led somewhere. Add to that Joao Moreira showing the racing world that the magic hasn’t gone poof by riding the first three winners at Happy Valley on International Jockeys’ Championship night. Next to me that night, wife Taciana and her friends danced their asses off to Latino rhythms at Adrenaline.

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Posted in Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, JOAO MOREIRA, The horse racing industry | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE BUSINESS OF HORSE RACING AND GOING AFTER THE SAME CONSUMER DOLLAR

Posted on December 8, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

We’re coming to the end of 2017, and the next year doesn’t offer much hope for many industries that have coasted on their respective gravy trains without reading the tea leaves and seeing what the future might hold. Guess sometimes ignorance is bliss and as long as it doesn’t affect one’s own bottom line, the thinking is that everything is more than awesome.

When it comes to businesses, there’ve been knee jerk reactions to some serious questions involving the very basics of a balance sheet which, more often than not, has to do with “the scale of economics” and understanding how far down the well the end consumer is prepared to go before seeing a profit and for how long.

Truth be told, the time for many industries is up for the very simple reason that they’re irrelevant- and bordering on being obsolete because of having been run into the ground by those who either resisted change or were too damn arrogant to see change hurtling towards them like an oncoming #MeToo train.

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Posted in HAPPY WEDNESDAY, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, The horse racing industry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

IT’S HKIR WEEK…AND THEY’RE OFF TONIGHT ON THIS HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Posted on December 5, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

Golf balls might be whacked around in tournaments, the first E Prix took place here over the weekend where a good time was had by all despite the winner being disqualified, but despite most not growing up around horses or anywhere near a farm, there’s nothing that wakes up Hong Kong with a buzz of excitement than horse racing, in particular, the week of the annual Longines Hong Kong International Races.

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Posted in HAPPY WEDNESDAY, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, JOAO MOREIRA, The horse racing industry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE BEST OF THE BEST: PART OF THE HKIR MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

Posted on December 1, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

BEST DIM SUM
Ding Dim 1968
(Shop No.A, 14D Elgin Street, Soho, Central)
Why: Authentic, creative and incredible variety

Being Dim Sum City, what qualifies for the “best” is extremely subjective. Longtime Hong Kong Belongers won’t look further than the dim sum restaurant in City Hall. Uptown traffic will mention Mott 32 and 1 Harbour Road, the Chinese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt. We fell in love with Ding Dim 1968 the day it opened. Sure, you can have your traditional dim sum, but without trying to be too clever, there are variations on a theme we have never seen nor tasted before anywhere else. And now that we have: There’s dim sum and there’s them sum. Ding Dim 1968 is Them Sum.

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Posted in HAPPY WEDNESDAY, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Horse Racing, The horse racing industry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

THE ODE TO HKIR WEEK

Posted on December 1, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

Everyone is getting ready for another HKIR week
Where the new Stars Of The Turf will be crowned
The racing world will meet in Hong Kong
Where some will get lost and others found…

There’ll be thundering hooves and magic men
From all around the world
They’ll be racing for pride and victory
Happy Valley and Sha Tin
Will be key attractions of the turf

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Posted in Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, HORSE RACING AND SOCIAL MEDIA, The horse racing industry | 1 Comment

DISCOVERING STOCKTON: PART OF THE HKIR MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

Posted on November 30, 2017 by

By Hans Ebert
@hanseberthk

STOCKTON
(G/F., 32 Wyndham St., Central)

With its very narrow entrance, it’s difficult to find, but enough people have found it for Stockton to become the most popular Scotch bar in Hong Kong.

In a city where Scotch bars are suddenly trending as followers often have a herd mentality, Stockton stands out as it set the standard where all the pieces fit and is frequented every evening by a constantly changing group of customers depending on the type of day. Special events on certain days of the week add to the atmosphere without being obtrusive.

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Posted in Hong Kong Racing, Horse Racing, The horse racing industry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment