The Emirates World Series Racing Championship is one of the most exciting prospects for thoroughbred racing, where the best horses in the world compete at the best racetracks and in the best races to establish a global champion.

First launched in March 1999, the inaugural competition brought together horses from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Ireland and Great Britain in a nine-race series to decide which horse truly befits the title of world champion.

In this second year of the Series, two more races have been added so that the the Emirate World Series 2000 now comprises 11 races spanning both hemispheres and held in nine countries and over four continents.

Each leg of the Emirates World Series Racing Championship is beamed into over 200 countries worldwide reaching an estimated audience of between 1.5 and 2 billion viewers.

The Emirates World Series is a global competition that will continue to develop and grow, bringing pleasure and reward to all those involved, players and punters alike.

This Hong Kong Cup was initially run as the Hong Kong Invitation Cup in January 1988 when the overseas entries were confined Malaysia and Singapore. The race was granted Group3 status in 1993, Group 2 in 1994, and it became the first ever race in Hong Kong with full international Group 1 ranking in Jim And Tonic's year - 1999 - when it also emerged as the final leg of the Emirates World Series. Last year, the great Fantastic Light claimed a last gasp triumph to record his first Emirates World Series crown in Hong Kong with a smooth success from Greek Dance. 1999 was also the year when the Cup's distance was increased to 2000m from 1800m. This year the Hong Kong Cup becomes the richest race on turf in the world over 2000m at HK$18 million (approx. US$2.3 million, GB¢G1.56 million, Aus$4.5 million).