Inside Asian Gaming

fter 20 years of executive-level ex- perience with racing organizations in the United States, Bill Nader joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club as executive director, rac- ing, this April. Widely recognized for the ex- cellence of its racing product and operations, the Jockey Club brought Nader in from the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to help broaden its appeal both at home and abroad, as a casino gambling colossus grows next door in Macau, and as the Jockey Club works to reverse a falloff in wagering levels that began in 1997. In the following Q&A, Nader discusses the challenges of his new position and the strategies that the Jockey Club is likely to deploy. What does director of racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club entail? Nader: It’s a very big job.It’s a lot different than what people in North America would relate to. There are 1,400 people that work in this division and 11 eight direct reports. It’s a big team. We have clubhouses in Sha Tin, Happy Valley and we’re building one in Beijing that report up to here. Handicapping and race planning report to this position. The lab, the chemists, the veterinarians who tend to the horses, the complete in-house drug testing services that we have on-site at Sha Tin. Almost every employee in the stable area is an employee of this department, the grooms; who are called mah-foos here; ev- erybody really except for the trainers. I’m excited; I have never experienced anything like it. What are some things you are working on right now? N ader: There will be some small things that we’ll be able to implement based on my first two months here including possi- bly introducing a new bet type. You have to identify and respect the culture the way cus- tomers choose to participate and enjoy rac- ing. Turnover here for the 78 race meetings will be over HK$63 billion, or about HK$105 million per race meeting or over HK$11 mil- lion per race (US$1 = HK$ 7.8). About 49% of A Going global Under Bill Nader’s watchful eye, the Hong Kong Jockey Club looks to push its racing product into new markets 46