Who is actually number one?
"It looks like horse number three?"
"No, it's horse number two. I saw it the clearest..."
"It's horse number six! It's horse number six!"
After a brief silence, the racecourse erupted in thunderous roars as people speculated about which horse would ultimately cross the finish line.
The reason for using the word "guess" is that when the horses were galloping at top speed, apart from the seven or eight cameras at the finish line, probably no one could tell which horse crossed the finish line.
The horses were very close together, almost crossing the finish line at the same moment. Even the jockeys on horseback didn't know who had won. At this moment, they were waiting for the result to be revealed, just like the horse racing fans at the scene.
The organizers of the horse racing association did not keep the audience and horse racing fans waiting for long. Just one minute after the horse crossed the finish line, countless large screens began to replay the slow-motion footage of the horse crossing the finish line.
From the still image, it can be seen that the three horses charged past the finish line almost simultaneously, but the middle horse was slightly ahead by a few centimeters. It was these insignificant few centimeters that determined the winner of the race.
"Oh dear, why is it this horse?"
"The number two horse I was eyeing only came in fourth..."
"What's the rush? This is only the first round, with a prize of a few hundred thousand. The real show is yet to come..."
Upon seeing the final result, a huge sigh echoed through the racecourse. No matter what kind of betting it is, there are always more losses than wins, and the sighs that drowned out the cheers in the racecourse were the best proof of that.
"Horse number three has won first place, horse number six has won second place, and horse number seven has won third place. Congratulations! Please take your horses to the inspection area!"
Official announcements also came on, urging jockeys to take their horses for testing, as only after testing would the results be considered valid.
"Haha, my horse won! My horse won!"
After the broadcast started, cheers suddenly erupted from the anxiously waiting horse owners. Three or four people jumped up excitedly and hugged each other, while more than a dozen horse owners around them looked at the group with envy. You see, winning first place in such a horse racing event not only represents honor, but also brings extremely rich rewards.
It's important to know that each race has a corresponding prize pool, and all the prize money in the prize pool goes to the winning horse. Generally speaking, the first-place horse in the race will receive about 60% to 70% of the prize money in this prize pool.
For example, in this preliminary race, the total prize money was HK$900,000. If we calculate based on 70%, the owner of that horse would receive HK$630,000. For horse owners who are not extremely wealthy, this is already a considerable sum.
Moreover, according to the rules, the HK$630,000 should all go to the horse owner. Of course, under normal circumstances, the horse owner will only take 70%, while the trainer, jockey and stable staff will take the remaining 30%.
As for the bottom-ranked teams in the race, they also receive prize money, but according to the rules of the Macau Jockey Club, in races with more than ten horses, only the top five teams receive prize money, and the prize money they receive is only 30% of the remaining prize money, which is incomparable to that of the first-place team.
So the horse owners who came in second and third place, although they also had happy expressions on their faces, were not nearly as happy as the first-place winner. Like everyone else, they looked on with envy at the people who were celebrating.
"Mr. Chen, why are all those people horse owners?"
Zhuang Rui was a little puzzled. He could understand some Cantonese, and since he was relatively close, he could hear that while the people were celebrating, they seemed to be calculating some kind of prize money distribution.
Chen Xiaojun glanced at the group and said with a smile, "Oh, you mean them? They bought the racehorses together. And let me tell you, they've been quite lucky; the horses they bought have performed admirably, winning several times..."
"Wow, this actually works?"
After hearing Chen Xiaojun's explanation, Zhuang Rui finally understood. It turned out that in Hong Kong and Macau, many white-collar workers were starting to invest in horse racing through clubs, participate in various competitions, and receive dividends according to their shareholdings after winning prize money.
Currently, a fairly ordinary racehorse costs between 100,000 and 500,000 HKD, while a thoroughbred costs over a million HKD. These horse owners cannot afford it all by themselves, so they came up with this solution.
If the horses are trained properly and participate in many competitions, the cost of a racehorse can be almost recouped in one racing season, which has led to the emergence of many small equestrian clubs.
The existence of these small clubs has greatly promoted the development of horse racing in Hong Kong and Macau. To some extent, the actions of these small horse owners are the real foundation supporting horse racing in Hong Kong and Macau.
Of course, under normal circumstances, they can only win races that don't have famous horses participating. The last three races, which are full of world-famous horses, are simply beyond their reach. Even if they did participate, they would only end up at the bottom.
After explaining the operations of small horse owners to Zhuang Rui, Mr. Chen glanced at his watch and said, "Mr. Zhuang, it's almost your horse's turn to race. We need to bring it over to be weighed now..."
The interval between each race is about 30 to 50 minutes, so the horses that will be competing next must be ready immediately after the previous race.
"Okay, let's go over there now..."
Zhuang Rui nodded and casually asked as they walked, "Mr. Chen, what's the total prize money for the second competition?"
"The second race is not a warm-up race; it features four horses from Europe that have previously won speed races, so the prize money is much higher, totaling HK$12 million..."
So many?
Zhuang Rui hadn't expected to make so much money from the horse farm; 70% of 12 million was over 8 million.
"Hehe, the Jockey Club has taken that into consideration; they want to get the fans excited..."
Chen Xiaojun laughed upon hearing this. There are a total of twelve races, and there need to be a few high-paying races at the beginning to keep horse racing fans more engaged. Of course, the races with the most lucrative prize money are the last three races.
"Zhuang Rui'an replied, 'You've finally arrived. I can't understand what this person is saying...'"
Just as Zhuang Rui reached the stables, Timur grabbed him. A staff member from the stables was standing next to him, sweating profusely and gesturing wildly as he spoke with Timur.
"Heh heh, Timur's father, he's calling you out for the competition..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and whistled. Zhui Feng immediately trotted out of the stable and followed behind Zhuang Rui.
"Buddy, this time it's all up to you. Take them all down, haha..."
Zhuang Rui affectionately hugged Zhui Feng's neck and looked at Timur, saying, "Brother Timur, when you return to Inner Mongolia this time, you'll be at least a millionaire..."
"What millionaire?" Zhuang Rui'an replied, "I'm just helping my brother out, I don't want the money you're offering..."
Timur was somewhat confused by what Zhuang Rui said. He knew Zhuang Rui was rich, but given his personality, it was really unfair of him to charge money for helping his brother with a horse race.
"We'll talk about this later. Let's go, or it'll be too late to carry the load..."
Zhuang Rui didn't say much. He led Zhui Feng and Timur to the weighing area, which was very close to the starting line. Because they arrived late, there were several horses and people being weighed ahead of them.
"There's so much to do..."
When it was Timur's turn, the Mongolian man muttered to himself, "In Inner Mongolia, horse races are held during festivals too. There aren't that many rules. You just ride it and win."
"Hey, get down here! What are you doing causing trouble? Can't you see we're busy?"
Timur never expected that he would be kicked off the scale as soon as he stepped onto it.
Chapter 1223 Extreme Speed Storm (Part 4)
"Zhuang Rui'an replied, 'What's wrong? Is it ready?'"
The staff at the Macau Jockey Club all spoke Cantonese, which Timur couldn't understand at all. He was in a daze and was inexplicably kicked off the road, staring blankly at Zhuang Rui.
"Brother Timur, please wait a moment..."
Although Zhuang Rui could understand a few words of Cantonese, he couldn't hold a conversation. He turned to President Chen and said, "The service at this horse racing club can't be this bad, can it? I can't let my horse be without a jockey!"
"Mr. Zhuang, I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry, I'll talk to them right away..."
Mr. Chen also witnessed what had just happened, but before he could stop it, Timur had already obediently stepped off the scale. Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed the staff member.
"What...what did you say? He...he's a jockey? Are you kidding me?"
Upon hearing Chen Xiaojun's words, the staff member, who appeared to be in his early forties, gaped so wide his mouth could have fit a duck egg. After scrutinizing Timur for a moment, he shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Don't joke around. I've worked at racetracks in Hong Kong and Macau for over 20 years, and I've never seen a jockey with such a physique..."
It's not really the staff member's fault, because the jockeys being weighed right now are all short and stocky, almost none of them are over 1.7 meters tall, and those with great figures are enough to make many women envious.
"It's true, he is our jockey..."
Mr. Chen also looked helpless. Timur's physique was more suited to a wrestling ring; standing among a group of jockeys, he did indeed look very out of place.
"You must be joking. With this gentleman's build, he could carry a horse on his back and run, how could he possibly participate in horse racing?"
The staff member was a bit stubborn, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, refusing to believe Chen Xiaojun's words.
With the competition time fast approaching, Zhuang Rui grew anxious and stepped forward, saying, "Are you kidding me? Who participates in the competition is our business. This gentleman is a jockey I invited from Inner Mongolia. If you don't weigh him soon, it will delay the competition. Can you afford to take responsibility for that?"
Zhuang Rui's words stunned the staff member. Indeed, if the competition was delayed because of him, he would be unable to explain himself. Although he still looked incredulous, he waved to Timur and said, "Come and weigh yourself..."
The staff member glanced at the numbers on the scale and sneered inwardly. If someone like that participated in a speed horse race, even the best horse would be dragged down by him.
"Alright, alright, it weighs over fifty kilograms even without weighing it, get down, get down..."
According to the rules of the competition, the jockey's weight is not allowed to be less than 50 kilograms, but there is no upper limit. So when Timur weighed himself at 108 kilograms, the staff member had nothing to say, as this did not violate the rules of the competition.
"Damn it, I've angered my buddy, so I'm dragging King Kong over to be the jockey..."
Zhuang Rui glared angrily at the staff member who was muttering to himself. His idea was actually quite feasible, because no horse racing regulations explicitly state that only humans can act as jockeys.
After the weigh-in process, with only 10 minutes left before the start of the race, all the horses entered their respective starting positions according to their lane numbers.
Just like before, almost all the jockeys and trainers were teasing the racehorses at this final moment, gradually raising their excitement level. Looking around at all twelve racehorses, only Zhuang Rui, who was number twelfth, remained completely still.
Just like human track and field sprint races, the various tracks for horse racing are also quite carefully designed. Famous racehorses with many championships are usually arranged in tracks one through five, which makes it easier for them to compete for lanes in the one-mile race.
In such short-distance, high-speed races, this is very important. Occupying a favorable track means a lead in position and can also block other horses from taking their place. Often, the winner of the race is decided within these few tracks.
Chasing Wind was added to the competition at the last minute, and it had no reputation and had never participated in a professional competition, so it was given a spot on track number twelve.
Horses that occupy such tracks are usually the underdogs in the race. That's how the odds of 1 to 50 for a horse like Chasing Wind came about. Of course, if you can bet on it correctly, it means a generous reward.
Actually, besides the Qin family, even though several other super-rich people in Hong Kong have bet on Zhui Feng to win, they don't really think Zhui Feng is a good candidate. They're just giving Zhuang Rui face.
Located at the very edge of the runway, no one paid much attention to Zhui Feng. However, a group of people gathered around the staff member, pointing and whispering in the distance, as if mocking Zhuang Rui.
"Damn it, are you looking down on people?"
Zhuang Rui got agitated and pulled out his phone to make a call, "Dad, is it still possible to place bets now?"
"Sure, there are still three minutes left to place your bets. What's wrong? Didn't you say you weren't going to buy?"
Qin Haoran, who was in the private room, lowered his voice, afraid that his daughter next to him would hear. When it came to horse racing, Qin Haoran, the father-in-law, absolutely supported his son-in-law.
What are the odds for "Chasing the Wind" at the racetrack?
Zhuang Rui knew his father-in-law was betting on illegal lotteries, but the person who offended him was a staff member at the racecourse.
Qin Haoran's eyes swept across the electronic screen in front of him and said, "The odds for Zhui Feng are 1 to 20. If you win, bet 1 to 20." "Dad, buy me 1... never mind, 50 million. Buy 50 million to bet on Zhui Feng to win." Zhuang Rui originally wanted to say 100 million, but he changed his mind. After all, this competition was organized by Si Tai's company. Winning her money was the same as winning his own family's money, right?
Moreover, 50 million is not a small amount. If the chasing wind wins, 50 million would be 1 billion Hong Kong dollars, which would inject a huge sum into Zhuang Rui's domestic charitable foundation.
"Okay, I'll transfer the money right away. Hopefully, it's not too late..."
Qin Haoran didn't know what had happened on Zhuang Rui's side, but since his son-in-law wanted to buy horses, he naturally had to support him. After hanging up the phone, he hurriedly got to work.
"Trying to mess with me? I'll see you crying your eyes out later..."
Zhuang Rui glanced at the staff member with a wicked grin, even though he knew that no matter how many more he won, that person wouldn't lose a single hair.
However, if the horse farm knew that they would have to pay 1 billion yen in compensation because of that person's actions, I wonder if they would skin that employee alive?
In truth, given Zhuang Rui's temperament, he wouldn't normally stoop to the level of these people. However, this trip to Hong Kong, especially the various questions and doubts they raised after meeting Zhui Feng, made Zhuang Rui very unhappy. It was just that these feelings only surfaced now. ...
"Chasing Wind, you must listen to Brother Timur. When he tells you to slow down, you must slow down completely, otherwise I won't be responsible if King Kong harasses you again..."