A sweepstakes is a game of chance linked to a sporting event. It differs from a lottery due to its reliance on another event, and from normal sports betting due to its random nature. Sweepstakes were popular in Hong Kong many years ago, when they were linked to some of the Club's important horse races. There were mainly two types of sweepstakes held - the Cash Sweeps and the Special Cash Sweeps.
From the pool of tickets sold, a preliminary but smaller pool of tickets was drawn and randomly allotted to a batch of horses, some of which were to race in the sweepstakes race. The ticket that corresponded to the winning horse in the race would be the winner of the sweepstakes. Second and third prizes were awarded in a similar way, while the rest of the tickets drawn in the preliminary round were all awarded cash prizes.
The Special Cash Sweeps were the most significant and carried the highest prize money, from several hundred thousands in early years to one million dollars later. In 1950’s, people could buy a number of flats with one million.
The Special Cash Sweeps were only conducted once a year before 1933 and twice a year from 1933 onwards, but due to their popularity, this was later increased to three or four times a year. They often carried special names such as the Grand Spring Special Sweeps and the Grand Autumn Special Sweeps, referring to the time of the year when they were held.
The sweepstakes tickets were sold at HK$2 each after World War II, which was a lot of money then. Sometimes people would pool together to buy into the sweepstakes. There were also other ways to make some extra money from the sweeps, as people would buy tickets from the Jockey Club at HK$2 then resell them for HK$2.10 in restaurants. The 10-cent profit was in those days enough to buy a bowl of congee with fried bread sticks. It is said that business was especially brisk for young female ticket sellers!
The popularity of sweepstakes tapered off in the 1960s. First of all, a Government Lottery which carried a higher prize money than the Cash Sweeps was introduced in 1962. This was followed by the introduction of new bet types in horse racing like the Quinella and Forecast in 1964, Double in 1965 and Tierce in 1973. In addition, the Mark Six was introduced in 1976, allowing the public more opportunities to win large prizes. The Jockey Club ceased operating regular sweepstakes in 1977. However, a special sweepstakes was run in 1999 to celebrate the new Millennium, and proved very popular.
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Club, The Hong Kong Jockey Club 125th Anniversary Sweepstakes which showcase the key achievements of the Club and remarkable horses over the years, will go on sale starting from 2 October 2009.
|
