Winfried the Navigator

Words/Apollo Ng

BOYHOOD DREAM

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was born into a business family where his father Fritz enjoyed huge success in the reinsurance sector and was also a successful racehorse owner.

At a very young age (four or five), his father took him to the races where he stood next to the rails witnessing his father’s horse winning convincingly. This was a feat which he never forgot and eventually this equine passion made him give up his desire to become a professional footballer (though he also excelled in this sport in playing for the German Youth Team) and while graduating from the University at Cologne in business and economics, his interest in breeding and racing continued to grow.

At the age of 27, through his marriage to his first wife, he was given the opportunity to manage Gestut Zoppenbroich, one of the top breeding farms of classic winners in the history of German racing. The first German Triple Crown winner and Champion sire “Konigsstuhl” (sire of “Monsun”) was out of this farm, together with two other German Derby winners.

At the same time he assisted his father who was in ill health with his family’s reinsurance business. His passion finally pointed him to the direction where he belongs - he was elected as the youngest board member of the German Owners and Breeders Association, initiating the opening up of the German bloodstock market to the rest of world.

Another step further is his admission as a Board Member of the German Racing and Breeding Authority (Direktorium für Vollblutzucht und Rennen), the governing body of German horse racing and breeding, whose members include the representatives of racecourses, the Trainers and Jockeys Association and the German Breeders and Owners Association. During this period he also developed and managed the Authority’s commercial activities, including its tote, telebetting, TV production, marketing and sponsorship. He became the Executive Vice President of the organization for six years before moving on to even greener pastures.

EAGLE’S LANDING IN HONG KONG

Winfried was approached by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to head to the Far East: it was after the reunification of Hong Kong back to China. He attended the Hong Kong International Races in 1997 and marvelled at the glamour and excitement of the event as well as the Club’s top facilities and technology. On the other hand he also felt that with the abundance of resources, he could achieve his mission of bringing Hong Kong to the world arena. It was the then Chairman of the HKJC, Alan Li, who discussed with him in detail the development of a 10 year strategy to upgrade the quality of Hong Kong racing. He accepted the challenge with delight. He was appointed Director of Racing of the HKJC in 1998. Prior to his arrival, there was no international Group 1 race in this reunified Chinese territory. Now there are 12, with 8-11 of them listed in the last five editions of Longines World’s Top 100 Group 1 races, all while there are less than 850 races at Happy Valley and Sha Tin each racing season.

In 1998 Hong Kong didn’t have a single horse in the international rankings, now there are on average 15-20. With less than 1% of the global horse population in training at Sha Tin and the picturesque Conghua, between 7-9% of the best horses in the world reside in Hong Kong. Among them since 2000 are fellow Aussies “Silent Witness”, “Sacred Kingdom”, “Able Friend” and none other than Magic Millions graduate “Golden Sixty”.

13 times Champion Jockey and now multiple Group 1 winning trainer Douglas Whyte summarised in one sentence, “Winfried has taken Hong Kong to another level....world class level!”

Though he missed his farm in Germany, his passion for horses kept him going, particularly when Hong Kong provided him with plenty of resources. He participated actively in yearling purchases in person after the Club took up the role of self-sourcing of yearlings, including from the Magic Millions Yearling Sales.

In 2007, Winfried was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the HKJC – a move away from his role in racing to now managing wagering, charity, membership, property, information technology, corporate affairs etc. All familiar tasks to Winfried while in Germany, only much larger in scale and complexity in Hong Kong. From what we have seen over the past 15 years, he handled the role with flying colours.

REVITALISATION OF HONG KONG RACING

Think of yourself as a racehorse owner under Winfried’s regime: prizemoney increased five times over the past 25 years? You gotta be kidding. But yes, Winfried successfully brought the Hong Kong Cup from a HK$7 Million dollar race in 1997 to $34 Million in 2022. How about prizemoney in general? From $464 Million in the 97/98 racing season, to $1620 Million projected for the 2022/23 season, 3.5 times compared with 25 years ago. Happy indeed!

Under the leadership of Winfried, the HKJC has clearly developed Hong Kong’s horse racing not only as a wagering centre or hobby, but also as a sport and a mind game for all. There are huge investments in racecourses, facilities and dining venues both on course and in clubhouses.

As a committee member of the Sha Tin Clubhouse I am honoured and delighted to host lunches and dinners in our new restaurants in which my guests can experience state of the art cuisine. On top of that, successful branding exercises such as Happy Wednesdays at Happy Valley as well as marketing activities in the off course betting centres provide us with branding segmentation where we look at the different wants and needs of people, and hence the Club can revamp racing products to meet their expectations and needs.

An idea introduced by Winfried during the Asian Racing Conference in 2007 and launched in 2014, comingling of wagering pools is now firmly established as a good revenue driver for both the HKJC and its comingling partners, among them Australia. It contributes 18.8% of the overall local Hong Kong racing turnover, underlining

the attractiveness of Hong Kong racing overseas even under pandemic conditions. At the moment the HKJC has almost 70 partners across 26 countries and jurisdictions. In addition the World Pool introduced in 2019 has been received positively by global customers including Australia in 2022.

With such prolonged strategic innovations, results speak for themselves: racing turnover increased from HK$92,300 million+ in the 1996/97 racing season to $140,000 million in the 2021/22 racing season, a sharp increase of 51.6%. Charity donations, increased from HK$1,040 million in the 1996/97 season to $4,500 million in the 2021/22 season, a 332% increase. Need I say more.

LEADERSHIP IN GLOBAL AND ASIAN RACING

Winfried was elected Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF) in 2014.

“I have convened seven Asian Racing Conferences”, said Winfried. “As a major event on the international racing calendar, the ARF attracts and engages leaders in racing and sports, alongside other influential stakeholders, to discuss and shape global and regional agendas to continuously advance the racing industry.

“We also stepped up our efforts to engage more meaningfully with our members and continuously amplify the impacts and reach of the work of the ARF and its members.”

In October 2021, Winfried succeeded Louis Romanet to become Chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). “Together with the IFHA Executive Council we oversaw the successful implementation of the Governance Review of IFHA, which saw the federation transitioned into a global executive office, with its governance consistent with the standards of a world-class regional sports federation.”

“Looking ahead, the IFHA has identified future key priorities critical to the long term sustainability of our industry, from integrity, climate change, commercial and marketing etc”.

“While the last few years have proven to be extremely difficult for our sport as we navigated the challenges of the pandemic, it has been a privilege to work alongside the leadership teams in the respective organisations to provide support and assistance to our racing community. This has ranged from a series of webinars organised and hosted by the ARF to the convening of a virtual International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, as well as organizing much more regular engagements across the ARF & IFHA memberships.”

In honour of what he has achieved and done for the racing industry, Winfried was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was also appointed Justice of The Peace in 2009, and most importantly awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government in 2016, a feat never achieved by any full time participant of the Hong Kong racing industry.

Writer: Apollo Ng

Voting Member, Hong Kong Jockey Club

Past President, Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association

Chairman, Racing World Publications Ltd

Racing Radio & TV Personality