Chapter 1259
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Chapter 1259: Horse racing (2)
Translator: 549690339
Not long after he finished his call with Feng Jing, MA Xiong personally came to the Presidential Suite to visit.
“Xia Sheng, thank you for giving me face!” MA Xiong said as soon as they met.
Xia ruofei knew that he was talking about old Blake, so he smiled and said,””Old Mr. MA, you’re being too serious. It’s just business! Who would be against money? Besides, I have a grudge against George Blake, so they’re showing their sincerity to deal with him like this. ”
“Hahaha! No matter what, you’re giving me, MA Xiong, face. I know what I’m doing!” MA Xiong said,”old Blake was just expressing his gratitude to me!”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. We’re not friends. You don’t have to be such an outsider.” Xia ruofei said with a smile.
“That’s true!” MA Xiong chuckled and said,”there’s a horse race tonight. If you’re free in the afternoon, why don’t you come with me to the horse race?” Director Guo called me early in the morning!”
“Alright! The guest will do as the host wishes!” Xia ruofei said.
Hong Kong’s horse racing culture was very popular. It had formed a complete industry chain, including auctions, training, transportation, veterinarians, betting, and so on. Of course, this huge industry also supported a large number of media: Horse racing TV programs, radio broadcasts, and major newspapers all supported a large group of professional horse racing analysts and commentators.
Xia ruofei had heard about it. Since he had the chance today, he would like to see it for himself.
“Then we’ll set off at FiveO’ clock. You can take a rest in the afternoon,” said Ma Xiong.
“Alright, I’ll follow your arrangements!” Xia ruofei said with a smile.
MA Xiong chatted with Xia ruofei for a while more before he left.
He didn’t go home, but stayed in a luxury suite in the hotel to rest.
At FiveO’ clock sharp, Xia ruofei and MA Xiong took his extended Bentley to Hong Kong’s horse racing District.
It was not suitable to bring children to a place like the horse track, so Huan Huan did not come this time. Ma Zhiming and Tian Huixin did not join in the fun either.
Horse racing was located in the southeast of the Wanzai District. The first racing field in Hong Kong was built here and horse racing had been held here as early as 1846.
On the way, MA Xiong introduced the horse racing culture and history of Hong Kong to Xia ruofei with great interest. Xia ruofei felt that he had gained a lot of knowledge after listening to him.
When night fell, they had already arrived at the horse racing field.
MA Xiong was a rich man, so he was naturally one of the members of the equestrian Club. He drove his car directly to the parking area reserved for members. He did not need to walk around half of the racecourse to reach the entrance like the ordinary audience.
As the chairman of the horse Association, Guo Hongjiang naturally had his own private room at the racecourse. It was a first – Class room with an excellent location.
However, MA Xiong had personally come to support him and even brought Xia ruofei, whom Guo Hongjiang wanted to make friends with. Hence, he did not act arrogantly and waited in the private room. Instead, he personally went to the membership parking area to welcome him.
“Chairman MA, Mr. Xia, welcome!” Guo Hongjiang said with a warm smile on his face.
“Director Guo is here to welcome you personally. It seems like Xia Sheng is the most respected!” MA Xiong said jokingly.
“Old Mr. MA, aren’t you checkmating me?” Xia ruofei smiled bitterly.”Director Guo, I’m here to pick you up. I’m just a junior. How could I trouble you to come?”
Guo Hongjiang laughed and said,”both of you are my distinguished guests!” Come, come, come, please come upstairs!”
The members ‘private rooms were all on the second floor of the grandstand. There was a direct staircase next to the members’ parking lot, and it was only a few steps away.
A soft and comfortable sofa sat in the spacious private room, and facing the horse track was a floor – to – Ceiling glass, from which one could clearly see the situation of the entire horse track.
Xia ruofei saw that there were already many people in the stands downstairs. What was interesting was that there were not many young people in the horse track. Most of them were middle – aged, and there were also some elderly people. Almost everyone had a horse scripture book. Most of them were buried in their research and rarely communicated with the people around them.
Needless to say, the majority of the audience were betting on horses.
It was obvious that the Hong Kong people were very gamblers.
“Mr. Xia, this must be your first time at the horse track, right?” Guo Hongjiang asked with a smile.
Xia ruofei looked away from the stands and smiled.”Yup! Director Guo, there’s still quite a bit of time before the match starts, right? I think the attendance rate of this horse track is already very high!”
“Horse racing has become a part of the daily life of many Hong Kong and island people.” Guo Hongjiang smiled and said,”the weekly night races at the horse racing track are always full. There are still many people who haven’t had the time to enter!”
“I’ve watched the race in United Kingdom before, and the atmosphere was so different from Hong Kong!”MA Xiong exclaimed.
“Oh?” Xia ruofei asked with great interest,”can you tell me more, old Mr. MA?”
MA Xiong explained,”in United Kingdom, horse racing is also a form of culture. For horse racing fans from these countries, watching the race live is more of a gathering for friends. It’s a form of social entertainment. That’s why most of them will dress formally while watching the race. During the race, they will also drink and chat. It’s even common for their families to have a picnic on the grass of the race track. As for horse racing, it’s just a dispensable interlude.”
MA Xiong glanced at the audience who were engrossed in studying the horse Scripture. He shook his head with a bitter smile and said,””After this sport was spread to Hong Kong, it changed. To put it simply, people put more emphasis on gambling than horse racing. People don’t really love horse racing. The so – called horse racing culture is more like a gambling culture. People can enter the racecourse even if they dress slovenly. Most of them spend their time studying horse classics. When they talk to people around them, they always talk about gambling …”
“Chairman MA, horse – betting culture is also culture!” Guo Hongjiang said with a smile.
“As a businessman, it’s not good to gamble too much,” MA Xiong said.
“Chairman MA, this is the only part of you that doesn’t seem like a Hong Kong person!” Guo Hongjiang laughed.
Then, Guo Hongjiang said to Xia ruofei,””Mr. Xia, how many people in Hong Kong don’t like horse racing? The year before last, the entire betting scale in Hong Kong was about 180 billion Hong Kong dollars, of which about 100 billion Hong Kong dollars were betting on horse racing! But Chairman MA, a rich man in Hong Kong, doesn’t like horse gambling at all, and he has no interest in becoming the chairman of the horse race. I forced him to join the horse race, but he doesn’t usually come to the racecourse. ”
“I can understand that we have different interests.” Xia ruofei said with a smile.
MA Xiong laughed at himself and said,”Maybe I’m old and my thinking is rigid! Xia Sheng, since it’s your first time watching a horse race, you can place a few bets and have some fun. Just don’t get too engrossed. ”
Xia ruofei smiled and waved his hand.”I’m not really interested in gambling. I’m just here to watch the fun.”
Although MA Xiong said that he didn’t like horse racing, as a Hong Kong citizen, he knew a lot about it. He smiled and said,””If you’re really going to bet on a few today, then just take it as supporting director Guo.”
“Oh? Why do you say so?” Xia ruofei asked curiously.
Guo Hongjiang smiled and said,”I’ll say it myself!” One of the horses in tonight’s competition is mine. ”
MA Xiong continued,”Xia Sheng, director Guo’s horse is the champion!” He had won the Asian Championship! He’s also the favorite to win tonight’s Championship!”
“Is that so?” Xia ruofei’s eyes fell on the electronic display in the room.
The horses participating in tonight’s race were listed here, and the real – time odds were next to it.
The calculation of the odds for horse racing was very complicated and there were various ways to calculate it. However, the general calculation principle was to add up all the bets and distribute them to the winner according to the ratio. This ratio was the odds. Of course, the total amount of bets had to be distributed after a certain amount of taxes were deducted.
The odds were naturally low for the more popular horses. Relatively speaking, the odds for the less popular horses were higher, but of course, the risk was also higher.
The odds changed in real – time according to the amount of bets placed on each horse. The odds would only be fixed when the betting was closed before the game.
Xia ruofei glanced at it and asked with a smile,””So, this ‘star of Hong Kong’ is director Guo’s favorite horse?”
“See that?” MA Xiong chuckled and nodded. The odds were much lower than the other horses, and everyone was optimistic that this horse would win tonight! Xia Sheng, director Guo spent more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars to buy this ‘star of Hong Kong’, but you’ve won a lot of competitions in the past six months, so you should have earned back the money long ago!”
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