The Hong Kong Jockey Club remains the largest single taxpayer in Hong Kong, having contributed $12.18 billion in racing betting duty and gross profit tax on football betting, amounting to 11.5 per cent of total taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department during the year. Its total group turnover was $88 billion comprising an encouraging amount of $16.1 billion from the new venture of football betting, which started in August 2003.

The club is a major employer and benefactor in Hong Kong. It operates under a unique not-for-profit business model whereby its surplus goes to charity. Through the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the club donated $975 million to charity and community projects in 2004. It also increased its allocation to the Trust to $1.12 billion, with $300 million contributed by football betting.

The club believes in the importance of partnership. Partnership with the Hong Kong Government, NGOs and charity groups have allowed the club to extend its reach into diverse areas of community need. In recent years, the club takes a proactive approach to tackling pressing social issues — from acting swiftly to assist in combating the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic by funding cleaning measures and the establishment of the Centre for Health Protection, to helping meet the community need for tackling unemployment and nurturing Hong Kong's young people. To help unemployed Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients to find jobs and become self-reliant again, the club partnered with the Social Welfare Department to launch the Intensive Employment Assistance Programme in October 2003. In recognition of the club's partnership over the years, the Community Chest awarded the Partners in Charity Award to the club in November 2004.

On the racing front, Hong Kong horses again acquitted themselves well in international races in December, with one winner, three seconds and one third in four international events. Defending champion Silent Witness was again in the spotlight. It romped home in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint and extended its unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive wins, only three wins away from the world record held by Cigar, a U.S. champion horse in the 1990s.

The club continues to enhance its wide range of racecourse facilities and services. In November, the world's first parade ring with a retractable roof was opened at Sha Tin, providing a new racing experience for race goers. In the area of off-course betting branches, plans to renovate branches with more comfortable and informative design are ongoing. The new branches now offer live TV broadcast of horse races.

On the membership side, the club continues on its Journey to Excellence by ensuring that the absolute best in food, service and activities are provided for its members. The club's ultimate goal is to make it the best membership club in Asia.

Though the club is a highly commendable and recognised entity in the international racing arena, Hong Kong racing is facing unprecedented challenges from illegal and offshore book-makers and experienced its seventh straight year of turnover decline. To enhance the club's competitiveness against illegal bookies, the club has called on the Government to modernise the betting duty by replacing it with a tax on gross margin so that the club can maintain its contribution to charity and government revenues.