Hong Kong Jockey Club Targets April For Commingling Bets With U.S.

Hong Kong Jockey Club "expects to be commingling bets" with the U.S. by April, but the same cooperation with Australia "is now looking less likely to take place this season," according to Alan Aitken of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The Jockey Club estimates commingling with all the nations operating their own small domestic pools on Hong Kong races could add HK$3B-4B ($390M-520M) to its annual turnover. Exec Dir of Racing Bill Nader said on Wednesday that delays in commingling with Australia had reached "a critical point." Nader: "We are at a point where I have to downgrade Australia from a possible this season to a questionable. It's moving very slowly. The interface is in good shape, but getting the legal, commercial and financial aspects of it all together there is proving difficult" (SCMP, 1/22).