Asian Racing Conference Starts Monday

The 36th Asian Racing Conference begins Monday, Jan. 25 in Mumbai as Asian Racing Federation members join delegates from the six racing continents for the nearly biennial event.

"We passed the banner as ARC hosts to our friends at the Royal Western India Turf Club some 20 months ago and are looking forward to joining members of the global racing community over the next week," said Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges in a statement. "The industry continues to experience significant change and in certain parts of the world, great turmoil. The opportunity to present new ideas and better understand the complex challenges our sport faces is always welcome. We anticipate building on the developments since Hong Kong hosted the conference in 2014."

A series of bureau meetings commence Monday with the assembly of the Asian Racing Federation's executive council, chaired by Engelbrecht-Bresges and joined by the club's executive director of racing authority Andrew Harding, who serves as secretary-general of the ARF. Also participating in the executive council session are executive director of racing Bill Nader and executive director of racing business and operations Anthony Kelly.

The club's chief stipendary steward Kim Kelly chairs the International Stewards' Conference while head of handicapping and race planning Nigel Gray serves as co-chairman of the Asian Pattern Committee meeting, both held Monday. The day concludes with the official opening ceremony of the ARC, hosted at the National Sports Club of India.

"The role of the Hong Kong Jockey Club in racing, not just in the ARF, but worldwide, is greater than ever," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "The most updated rankings of the World's Top 100 Group I races, of which 10 are run in Hong Kong, a jurisdiction that hosts less than 800 races a year, is just one sign. While we are particularly lucky to have tremendous support from our owners, members, and customers, our model as Hong Kong's largest charitable benefactor is a shining example for the sport."

Tuesday sees the start of the ARC's business sessions with Engelbrecht-Bresges addressing industry trends and strategies in the opening panel titled "The Wagering Landscape." After a comprehensive review of the club's marketing innovations at the last ARC, Richard Cheung, executive director of customer and marketing, will provide a full update in a Wednesday business session, revealing details of the new customer-facing and internal technologies being applied in Hong Kong.

Club officials will play a large role in two of the final sessions Thursday. Harding begins the day moderating a panel which asks participants to assess the success rate of achieving a drug-free racing model before presenting on the development of racing in mainland China during a later session. In that focus on racing and breeding in China, Anthony Kelly will provide an extensive update on the Conghua Training Centre while Cheung will address racecourse and horse owner development in the mainland.

The rising tide of illegal gambling is the penultimate session of the ARC and features presentations from Martin Purbrick, director of security and integrity, along with head of trading Rupert Bolingbroke. Purbrick will identify the current trends on illegal betting and organized crime in Asia while Bolingbroke will profile the customers of Asia's illegal betting operators.