The 2023/24 season of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s domestic racing prize money will rise by eight percent, highlighted by a 20% bump for its local championship event, the BMW Hong Kong Derby. The total prize fund, including bonuses, will be HK$1.38 billion. It is a reflection of the continued commitment by the Jockey Club to attract the world’s best horses and their connections to our racecourses and support the long-term success of our domestic racing product.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s HK$118 million in total prize money for this year’s Longines Hong Kong International Races and FWD Champions Day underscores our firm commitment to maintaining our status as the ‘Turf World Championships.’ This significant increase in prize money also reflects the continuing strength of our international race programme, and our ongoing efforts to promote Hong Kong as an elite racing destination worldwide.

On the PGA Tour, Abraham Ancer secured his first win on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit as he captured the LINK Hong Kong Golf Open at Hong Kong Country Club in Fanling. The Spaniard won the individual title with a three-shot victory over Dean Burmester, with Phil Mickelson posting his best finish of the season in solo third place. The 132-player field earned a combined $3.9 million for their top-five finishes.

Meanwhile, the prestigious Sovereign Asian Art Prize saw Hong Kong lead the way with nine artists making the shortlist. Pakistani artist Sameen Agha took home the Grand Prize for her sculpture A Home is a Terrible Place to Love, while Hong Kong-based painter Demet was awarded the People’s Choice Award for her PPE, Paint Palette Emulation.

In a move to help combat climate change, Hong Kong has launched a new grant scheme aimed at encouraging students to study subjects related to the environment. Under the Green Scholarship, up to HK$140,000 will be given to students in higher education who major in environmental studies. In addition, a further HK$60,000 will be granted to a student who has written the best essay on the subject.

This is the sixth edition of the Hong Kong Studies Book Prize, a competition organised by the Society for Hong Kong Studies (SHKS). The prize will be awarded to the author(s) of the best essay(s) published on any aspect(s) of global Hong Kong studies. The winning essay(s) will be published in ICAS Book Prizes: Global Hong Kong Studies, the most reputable academic publication in this field. The closing date for entries is December 31, 2018. Details are available on the SHKS website. The competition is free to enter and open to all HK-based students. The SHKS will announce the results in March 2019. All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges. The final decision will be made by the editorial team of ICAS Book Prizes. The prizes will be presented at a ceremony at the University of Hong Kong in June 2020. The winning essays will be republished in ICAS Book Prizes: Global Hong Hong Kong Studies and distributed to libraries around the world.