I'm sure you're right re the racing itself even though I've never been there, but what I was referring to was something different: 24 hr 365 day per yr video of the barns, extensive independent vet testing of every horse, free timeform & speedpower(which includes the weights of the horses) handicapping products, extensive trip & fitness notes from experts, in depth coverage of works(including video for big races, such as those this weekend), detailed descriptions of any & all physical problems of each horse, the most comprehensive reports on equipment changes I have ever seen, comprehensive pre-race radio coverage, etc, etc. In reviewing these things, I thought it was kind of ironic that the HKJC bases it's report on the condition of the track using a soil compaction meter(the Lang Penetrometer) which you can purchase from an Ala Co for $189. And also, as you point out, the payoffs can be astronomical. The race Victor Espinoza won the other night was the 3rd leg of the so called TT, or triple trio, which requires that you pick the 1st, 2nd & 3rd horse in any order in 3 races. It paid HK$35 million.

P.S. Maybe Drysdale was thinking the same thing he was thinking when he ran Flying Dash in the Haw Gold Cup a couple of yrs ago. I read somewhere recently that his appeal of the positive is still pending & that the owner has refused to comply with the Ill reg body's directive to return the purse money.