Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 123

At over 70 meters long, the display board along the Sha Tin
course is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as the
longest screen in the world.
The club is rather less keen to disclose its members’
names than it is to publish record statistics. Of course, the list
includes many in positions of power and influence, say the PR
officials, as well as famous names from the world of entertain-
ment. But privacy considerations mean that no names can be
named. To become a regular member, you will need to pay a
one-off entry fee which currently stands at around 22,000 euros,
plus a monthly contribution of 118 euros. In return, horse
owners enjoy special privileges with their own concierge ser-
vice and a private box where champagne flows. However, any-
one who is not recommended by a club member will not get
in. Only a very few applicants are accepted each year. This
noble group of horse enthusiasts is shielded from envious
critics by the club’s unique financial structure. Since the mid-
1950s, the club has invested all its surpluses into community
projects, to the tune of around 90 million euros each year.
According to Engelbrecht-Bresges: “Leading an organization
that puts so much back into the community is something that
fills even a CEO with pride.”
The club finances youth employment, training initiatives,
projects for the elderly, medical causes, research, environ-
mental programs and sports facilities. The club gave the city
its first public golf course as well as a soccer academy, some-
thing close to the heart of former professional soccer player
Engelbrecht-Bresges:“Until now there hasn’t been a single
institution that provided systematic support to talented young
players – there is now.” He is also committed to preserving
Hong Kong’s cultural heritage. For instance, vast sums will be
poured into restoring the historic police headquarters and
prison, for which the club has engaged the services of top
architects. Particularly impressed by their design of the Tate
Modern in London, the club has commissioned Swiss archi-
tects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.
The real baptism of fire, the spectacle to which The Hong
Kong Jockey Club is committing all its facilities and organiza-
tional know-how, will come this summer. Between August 9th
and 20th, Olympic riders will battle it out for a podium place in
Hong Kong.The fact that the equestrian events are not being
held on the Chinese mainland is due to international quaran-
tine restrictions: Something that The Hong Kong Jockey Club,
dependent on horse imports since time immemorial, knows
better than any of its counterparts in the Middle Kingdom. The
Olympic arena, training areas, halls and stables are all finished,
and the club is looking forward to welcoming the 200 riders
and their 225 horses. The citizens of Hong Kong are still rather
reluctant to show enthusiasm for the Olympics. Winfried
Engelbrecht-Bresges is undeterred: “We want to show the
world the incredible energy and the urge to accomplish that
exists in Hong Kong.” He likes to call it the “can-do spirit.”
Doing whatever it takes – even if space is tight. •
Myrto-Christina Athanassiou is a passionate horsewoman and fan of
Asia. She works for Das Parlament, Süddeutsche Zeitung and WDR.
The club’s horses and jockeys are
world class. Horses born to win some-
times even get their own websites.
Photos: Epa Paul/Picture Alliance, AUDI AG, Schiffmann/imago