BEIJING,July 3 -- The total betting turnover for latest racing season in Hong Kong, which came to an end on Wednesday, dipped 1.29 percent to 66.82 billion HK dollars (8.57 billion U.S. dollars), the Hong Kong Jockey Club said.

    More than 63,000 racing fans flocked to the racecourses for the last of the 78 racing meetings in the season on Wednesday. A number of top horses and horsemen were honored in the champion awards presentation for their outstanding achievements.

    Total attendance for the season, however, remained stable at 1.9 million.

    The Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said he was pleased with the season's turnover figure in the light of the economic downturn.

    Engelbrecht-Bresges also appealed to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to consider giving the club more flexibility, referring to the club's recent proposal for adding five race days and 20 overseas simulcast days.

    We see our mandates meaningful and exciting to make significant contribution to employment and to our charities and community beneficiaries not only for a short term, but also in the medium and long run, he said.
The 2009/2010 racing season in Hong Kong will begin on Sept. 13.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hong Kong.

    (Source: XHTV)