Integrity, medication reform, customer centricity, and new wagering opportunities were all prominent themes at The Jockey Club’s 64th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, held Aug. 14 at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In the keynote address, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, discussed the importance of integrity in his presentation entitled, “The Journey to World Class Racing and Success via Customer Centricity.”

“A key element of integrity in our opinion is to ensure that horses are raced and trained in a prohibited substances-free environment to ensure a level sporting/competition playing field,” he said. “This includes in-training controls, having every starter tested for prohibited substances before the race, plus the usual post-race control.”

Engelbrect-Bresges noted that his organization had invested significantly to upgrade its racing laboratory, including everything from equipment to top-class experienced chemists and technicians. That testing lab is the only accredited lab in Asia for testing top equestrian competitions, including the Hong Kong/Beijing Equestrian Games