At this year’s Chinese New Year Raceday at Happy Valley – featuring a record prize pool of HK$20.8 million – Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has introduced an incentive scheme for trainers. Winning trainers will receive HK$200,000; runners-up receive $100,000; third place receives $50. This bonus incentive scheme will encourage participation by trainers in this popular event while improving quality racing overall.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club prize fund is generated through 54% deduction of total bets placed by customers on all racing events. This prize money is then distributed among various tax and social causes.
In 2019, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s prize fund is projected to surpass HK$2 billion, providing funds for activities such as education, sports promotion, science and technology promotion and community outreach.
As our world evolves at an ever-increasing speed, we remain dedicated to supporting innovation that advances education in an increasingly dynamic global context. To this end, the Yidan Prize, launched in 2016, recognizes changemakers who are pioneering education by developing forward-looking ideas in Education Research and Development that have had transformative results. Laureates receive grants of approximately US$3.8 million (HK$30 million). Half of which serves as an unrestricted project fund to facilitate scaling their work.
Last October, at London’s Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony – known as the “Oscars of classical music” – the Hong Kong Phil was recognized with being named Orchestra of the Year as they became the first Asian orchestra ever to achieve such recognition. This recognition came due to their multi-year project to record Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle on Naxos Records.
Every year, the Hong Kong Film Academy awards several prestigious prizes including the Hong Kong Film Academy Award (HKFA) and Sigg Prize to honor outstanding local filmmakers while inspiring more young people into filmmaking as a profession. All HKFA award-winning films are chosen by an expert panel consisting of professional film workers as well as critics.
HKFA was established in 1993, and currently comprises representatives from thirteen professional film bodies as well as six expert adjudicators on its board of directors. Since 2018, the biennial award known as Sigg Prize has been hosted by HKFA with its winner chosen by an international jury of six experts. Since HKFA’s establishment, numerous outstanding local talents in film have been recognized with this prize and will be showcased at an exhibition opening September 2019 called M+ to commemorate this achievement.