"More than 20 million Hong Kong dollars!" Xia Ruofei was shocked.
Ma Xiong laughed and said, "For a racehorse, this price is not exaggerated at all! Xia Sheng, do you know how much the most expensive purebred horse costs? More than 60 million US dollars! "
"This is a real BMW!" Xia Ruofei joked, "It's much more expensive than a BMW …"
Guo Hongjiang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Horse racing is indeed expensive. A good horse itself is expensive. In addition, the cost of horse maintenance, training, and so on is also very high. Not to mention other things, if you go to other places to compete, just the transportation cost is hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars each time!"
"This is really a sport for the rich …" Xia Ruofei couldn't help but sigh.
Guo Hongjiang smiled and said, "Not necessarily. The rich have their own way of playing, and the poor have their own way of playing!"
After that, he pointed to the stands downstairs and said, "Almost everyone in Hong Kong participates in horse racing, and the threshold is very low. The entrance ticket to Horse Racing Course is only 10 Hong Kong dollars, and you can just use your Octopus. The threshold for betting is also very low, and you can buy it with only 10 Hong Kong dollars. There are many ways to play, such as betting on a single win, a position, a winning streak, and so on … "
Ma Xiong said with a smile, "Chairman Guo, if you have time later, you can take Xia Sheng to see your beloved horse!"
"No problem! The Star of Hong Kong should be undergoing various checks now, and it is not allowed to come into contact with the outside world before the race. " Guo Hongjiang smiled and said, "But before the race starts, I can take Mr Xia down there to have a closer look!"
Xia Ruofei nodded and glanced around the box. He said with a smile, "Actually, I don't need to look to know that all the photos here are of the Star of Hong Kong, right?"
This box was exclusive to Guo Hongjiang. Even if he didn't come, it was not open to the public, so the decorations and layout of the box were arranged according to Guo Hongjiang's preferences.
There were many photos on the wall of the box, and they were all of the same horse. Since Guo Hongjiang liked the Star of Hong Kong so much, it was not difficult to guess.
Guo Hongjiang smiled and nodded. "Yeah! These photos were just updated this year. My previous horse has already been retired, and there are a few other horses that haven't reached the standard for the competition yet. "
Then he sighed and said, "It's not easy to find a good horse these days!"
Ma Xiong joked, "Isn't it enough that you have the 'Star of Hong Kong'? You don't know how many people envy you! "
"Haha! That's because I have a good eye! " Guo Hongjiang said proudly, "I had my eyes on this horse not long after it was born. I bought it and trained it for a long time!"
Xia Ruofei was a little surprised and said, "In other words, Director Guo spent more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars on a foal?"
Ma Xiong smiled and said, "That's normal! Director Guo had a professional team. They were very experienced and had very good foresight! The Star of Hong Kong's bloodline was very pure, and its father was a champion horse. Therefore, it was normal for it to be sold at a high price. The 'Star of Hong Kong' has won so many trophies. His net worth must be more than 20 million HKD! "
Ma Xiong then looked at Guo Hongjiang.
Guo Hongjiang smiled proudly and said, "This net worth is meaningless. I can't sell the 'Star of Hong Kong' anyway. It's my baby!"
"Of course! Everyone knows that Mr. Guo of Hong Kong loves horses as much as his own life! "Ma Xiong teased.
"Haha! People always have some hobbies! " Guo Hongjiang said with a smile. Then he looked at Xia Ruofei and asked, "Xia Sheng, are you interested in buying a few stakes? My 'Star of Hong Kong' is quite stable, and there aren't any strong opponents in tonight's competition. It shouldn't be a problem to win. "
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "Okay! Then let's play. But it's just for fun. The most important thing is entertainment! "
At Guo Hongjiang's level, it was impossible to gamble too much.
In fact, Guo Hongjiang's interest in horse racing was beyond the level of ordinary people. It was a bit like the foreign horse racing culture that Ma Xiong had mentioned. Guo Hongjiang treated horse racing as an entertainment and social occasion. He would chat with his friends about horses and enjoy the competition.
As for how much profit and prize money the horse racing could bring him, he didn't really care. He was the king of real estate in Hong Kong. Every minute of his business was more profitable than the horse racing. What's more, if he casually struck a deal in the private room, he could even buy ten "Stars of Hong Kong".
"Okay! You can bet directly in the private room! Let me teach you! "Guo Hongjiang said happily.
Hong Kong's horse racing had developed into a very mature industry chain. Now, even if you were not at the scene, you could still bet.
With the development of the Internet, you could even accept foreign bets.
Of course, there was also a spacious indoor trading room in the racecourse. It was always crowded with people and busy staff.
In the private room of Guo Hongjiang, the chairman of the Horse Racing Association, you could naturally bet at will.
Guo Hongjiang took Xia Ruofei to a device that was similar to a KTV music player and operated it on the touch screen.
Xia Ruofei bet 10,000 Hong Kong dollars. Although it was for entertainment, he couldn't really only bet 10 Hong Kong dollars. That would be too embarrassing.
As for the object of the bet, of course, he bet that Guo Hongjiang's' Star of Hong Kong 'would win alone.
Even if this horse wasn't favored, Xia Ruofei couldn't buy another horse. If he really did that, his EQ would be too low.
Guo Hongjiang helped Xia Ruofei complete the bet with a smile. He handed the horse ticket that looked like a mainland lottery ticket to Xia Ruofei and said, "Mr. Xia, although the odds of 'Star of Hong Kong' aren't high, it's stable. There shouldn't be any suspense in this race. It won't be a problem to make a few thousand Hong Kong dollars!"
"Haha! That's all thanks to Chairman Guo! "Xia Ruofei laughed.
Night fell.
Guo Hongjiang ordered a sumptuous dinner and opened a bottle of his precious red wine. He invited Xia Ruofei and Ma Xiong to dinner in the private room of the racecourse.
Of course, there was more than one race in the evening. In fact, there were eight races in total tonight, and each race was half an hour apart. Guo Hongjiang's' Star of Hong Kong 'would appear at about 8: 30 in the evening.
Therefore, when everyone was eating, the race had already begun.
Xia Ruofei felt the fanatical atmosphere of the Hong Kong horse race for the first time.
The ordinary stands below were full. When the horses were ready to go, the crowd couldn't sit still. Almost everyone was standing.
The moment the horses set off, the whole racecourse was almost boiling.
Everyone waved the tickets in their hands and shouted in various languages, including English, Cantonese, and of course, Mandarin. Hong Kong horse racing was almost an indispensable tour for mainland tourists.
Even in the private room with good soundproofing, Xia Ruofei could feel the vibration of the entire stands, and the shouts below came in bursts.
“e
on！”
“U
get
it！”
"Number seven! Number seven! Go! "
"Number five! Go! Go! Go! "
Cheers, whistles, and shouts resounded through the sky.
The track was not long, and the race time was actually very short. In the blink of an eye, the horses had crossed the finish line.
At this time, it seemed that there was an invisible big hand controlling them. Everyone looked at the big screen in the center of the racecourse. Without the help of the camera, it was impossible to tell who won and who lost. In the screams and shouts in the first minute, no one knew whether the horse they bet on was half a body ahead.
The result was quickly shown on the big screen.
Those who bet on it were naturally ecstatic, especially since the winner of this race was an unpopular horse, and the odds were frighteningly high.
Many people looked up and laughed, or hugged their companions next to them.
Of course, there were even more people who were extremely disappointed and sat down dejectedly. There were also people who walked to the indoor trading hall without saying a word. There was still half an hour before the next race began, and they had to hurry up and bet.
The crazy people in the stands and the calm scene in the private room formed a sharp contrast. Xia Ruofei could not help but feel a little emotional in his heart.
During the race, Guo Hongjiang did not forget to comment on the horses. When the big screen showed that number two, which was not favored at all before the race, had won, he was a little surprised.
Guo Hongjiang smiled and said, "This is a big loss. I bet on number five to win alone …"
Xia Ruofei said with a little surprise, "Chairman Guo also bet on this race?"
"Just for fun!" Guo Hongjiang shrugged and said.
Ma Xiong smiled and said, "You bet a lot, right?"
"A million or so!" Guo Hongjiang said carelessly, "I didn't expect number five to be so disappointing. In fact, the horse is a good one, but the training is not very good, and the driver probably can't keep up. The race is obviously slowed down, and the jockey is not good …"
Xia Ruofei could not help but secretly shake his head. Guo Hongjiang really liked to bet on horses. A bet was in the millions of Hong Kong dollars, and it was not his own horse. He did not know if Guo Hongjiang had bet on the "Star of Hong Kong", but he must have bet a lot.
However, Xia Ruofei naturally would not ask about this kind of thing.
After the meal, Guo Hongjiang asked people to remove the food, but the bottle of red wine was still in the private room. The three of them also held their wine glasses and chatted, occasionally clinking their glasses and taking a sip. The atmosphere was very leisurely, a sharp contrast to the craziness in the stands.
Guo Hongjiang raised his hand to look at his watch and said, "It's almost time. Mr. Xia, how about we go down and see the" Star of Hong Kong "together?"
"Okay! A BMW worth tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, I have to see it up close! "Xia Ruofei said with a smile.
So the three of them put down their wine glasses and left the private room under Guo Hongjiang's lead. They went down an internal staircase.
The "Star of Hong Kong" race was next, but in order to give people time to place their bets, there was a 30-minute interval between the two races. Now the horses were all preparing for the race.
Xia Ruofei did not know until he went downstairs. Although it was said that he wanted to see it up close, it was actually not very close.
The horses were about to compete, and in order to prevent accidents, no one was allowed to get close to them at this time. Only the horses and the jockeys were together.
Xia Ruofei, Guo Hongjiang, and Ma Xiong saw the "Star of Hong Kong" ten meters away from the fence.
It was a brown stallion. Xia Ruofei could not see anything special about it, but he felt that the fully equipped jockey next to it looked majestic.
Ma Xiong said, "Xia Sheng, Mr. Guo's" Star of Hong Kong "is very good! Look at its shiny coat, and the muscles on its chest and hips are well-defined, especially the muscles on its hind legs. At first glance, you can see that it is full of strength. Its eyes are also bright. It is indeed a good horse! "
Although Ma Xiong did not like to bet on horses, as a Hong Kong man, he knew far more about horse racing than Xia Ruofei.
Guo Hongjiang was not modest at this time. He said with a smile, "Mr. Xia, the structure of my horse's hooves and legs is the standard 'diea' structure, which is almost the perfect structure for horse racing. Look at the horse next to him, it is the 'bow-kneed' structure. Although this small flaw will not affect the race, for a horse race where winning or losing is on the line, this small flaw may be the difference between the champion and the last place!"
Xia Ruofei looked carefully at the horse Guo Hongjiang was talking about. After comparing it with the "Star of Hong Kong" for a long time, he still could not see the difference between the two horses' hooves and legs.
Guo Hongjiang also knew that he was being too professional, so he said with a dry smile, "Mr. Xia, you don't have to listen to what I'm saying. Anyway, my 'Star of Hong Kong' is almost perfect, and I hired a top team to train it, so it has achieved a lot in the past year."
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "It seems that I can make a small profit tonight …"
Guo Hongjiang laughed and said, "I don't think you will lose money!"
Then the three of them looked through the fence for a while. Xia Ruofei listened to Guo Hongjiang's comments about the competitors of the "Star of Hong Kong". He felt that either there was something wrong with them, or there was something wrong with them. Anyway, the "Star of Hong Kong" seemed to be winning.
When the race was about to start and the horses and jockeys were heading to the starting point of the track, the three of them returned to the box. After all, the view downstairs was not very clear, so the box had the best view, with a panoramic view of the entire track.
Although Guo Hongjiang was full of confidence, the race was about to start. It was inevitable that he was a little nervous, which could be seen from his eyes.
After Guo Hongjiang returned to the box, the first thing he did was walk to the floor-to-ceiling glass, quickly found the position of the "Star of Hong Kong", and then raised his binoculars to look carefully.
After a while, the race officially began.
Under the control of the jockeys, the horses rushed forward like arrows, leaving clouds of dust behind them.
The cheers and whistles in the stadium rang out again. Xia Ruofei also felt the vibration of the stands once more.
Although Guo Hongjiang did not lose his composure like the other spectators, he clenched his fists tightly and stared at the track, as if he was trying to give the "Star of Hong Kong" a boost.
Guo Hongjiang was right. The "Star of Hong Kong" was born with excellent conditions, and it was in the lead as soon as it started. Although the lead in a horse race was usually not very big, it was still obvious to the naked eye that the "Star of Hong Kong" was in the first place.
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