What a week to be a fly on the wall at 1 Sports Road.

Wednesday will go down as one of the more expensive days in Jockey Club history, with a HK$12 billion special football betting duty compounded – even if only slightly in comparison – by the more than HK$180 million it had to hand back to punters after stewards were forced to abandon race eight at Happy Valley after a nasty fall soon after the start.

And all of this while officials continue to digest Zac Purton’s criticism of Marc van Gestel on Monday, and – one would assume – craft their response to the champion rider’s claim the new chief steward has “already lost the confidence of the jockeys’ room”.

While the club is yet to address Purton’s comments, its response to Wednesday’s budget proposal that it pay HK$2.4 billion a year in added football betting duty for the next five years was far more restrained than the 900-word missive it fired following recent suggestions by the New People’s Party that football betting duty should be increased by 30 per cent.

On confirming it will pay the added HK$12 billion, the club admitted it “understands the rationale behind the government’s decision”, but officials certainly did not miss an opportunity to put forward their case a week after chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges told the Asian Racing Conference he wants 100 world pool meetings – up from the current 20 – in the “very foreseeable future”.

“The club reiterates the paramount needs to maintain our global and sustainable competitiveness, to effectively combat illegal and offshore betting operators,” Wednesday’s statement read.

“We strongly appeal to the government to critically review and reduce the betting duty rates on a long-term basis, which are the highest in the world, in particular on horse racing which stand at 72.5 per cent to 75 per cent.

“Moreover, we need the support of the government for the club to bring in more simulcast and world-pool opportunities.

It’s Ambitious to win a Hong Kong Classic Cup without running in a Classic Mile

“Furthermore, we also request the government to commence a review on the licensing conditions imposed on football betting, with a view to giving the club the much-needed flexibility and competitiveness to respond to the ever-increasing competitions and challenges from illegal and offshore betting operators, and to mitigate the impact of the decrease in revenues due to the additional football betting duty payment.”

What impact the HK$12 billion hit has remains to be seen – Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is confident the club “can afford it” and the club has confirmed it will not reduce its charity output.

In the meantime, it will be intriguing to see if the club can leverage its “generosity” and find a silver lining, whether it be lower taxes on racing, looser licensing conditions on football betting or – more likely – an increase in simulcast and world pool meetings.

Chau in the cross hairs

Jockey Club stewards have adjourned an inquiry into Jerry Chau Chun-lok’s ride aboard Benno Yung Tin-pang’s Circuit Splendor in the first section of the Class Five Fenwick Handicap (1,200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

The stewards took issue with “Chau’s riding of Circuit Splendor throughout the event with particular emphasis on the early stages and in the home straight. After taking evidence from Mr Yung, trainer of Circuit Splendor, and jockey Chau, the inquiry was adjourned until a date to be fixed”.

Sent off at $14 – his shortest quote since he started $5.4 on debut 10 runs earlier – Circuit Splendor jumped well from gate two before settling just forward of midfield.

Circuit Splendor worked into the race upon straightening under limited urgings from Chau before the 22-year-old got busy on the gelding at the 200m before finishing a length and three-quarters adrift of winner Raging Blaze.