Steriline Racing and ARMA Offer Once-in-a-Lifetime Scholarship Experience with the Hong Kong Jockey Club

Since 2008, Steriline Racing, alongside the Australian Racecourse Managers Association (ARMA) has been providing a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship trip for track foremen, thanks to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Last year, John Ridley from the Hong Kong Jockey Club was delighted to present the award at the annual ARMA conference to the 2024 scholarship winner, Jake Carlaw from the Australian Turf Club.

2024 scholarship winner Jake Carlaw (pictured on right) alongside Racecourse Manager and previous 2016 scholarship winner, Michael Wood from Australian Turf Club.

Fast forward to now, March 2025, Jake Carlaw has completed his trip to the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s internationally renowned facilities. His itinerary included visiting:

• Sha Tin Racecourse
• Happy Valley Racecourse
• Conghua Training Facility

Jake Carlaw visiting the Hong Kong Jockey Club Conghua Racecourse and Training Facility in Guangzhou.

This scholarship was able to provide Jake with the opportunity to build valuable professional relationships with the dedicated staff at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, gain insights into the maintenance and preparation of world-class racecourses, and experience first-hand the operational excellence that underpins the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s global reputation.

“It was such a great experience getting to know everybody at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. They really went to great lengths to make me feel welcome and I can’t thank Steriline and ARMA enough for the opportunity.”

What are some of the key takeaways from your trip?

“Some key takeaways from the trip were just how much detail goes into their turf management. At Randwick a lot of time and effort is put into making sure the turf is in great condition all year round. But with the racing schedule in Hong Kong this really holds so much emphasis. There was just so much time and effort put into making sure that the track will continue to drain all year round at a significant rate so that the racing is not affected. Anyone that has a sand-based track could look at Hong Kong Jockey Club and really take something out of it. I spoke at length with the staff about the practices that they used leading into race days and after race days. What they do to reduce compaction and remove organic matter is really something to be admired. What also stood out is the vast array of machinery they have at their disposal.”

“The size of the Hong Kong Jockey Club was also something that is hard to fathom, every single part of racing is covered by them. It also stood out to me how well prepared they were for racing. By the time the weekend came around at Sha Tin, they had everything covered, they had a smaller crew on Saturday doing the finishing touches before Sunday’s races. Whereas compared to Sydney, we have a busy Friday mowing and preparing the track with all staff present.”

“Something that will always stick with me… I walked out onto the track at Sha Tin and under the lights on the Tuesday it really was such a great sight. I was just taken back by how big the track was… that image will stick with me forever.”

Photo taken at Sha Tin Racecourse upon Jake’s arrival.

How do you think this trip will benefit your work moving forward?

“Being able to spend time at a different track or even country in this instance really has opened my eyes to dealing with different types of grasses and ways that they deal with such busy racing schedules. At Randwick I have had very limited experience with couch grass and only last year we have started oversewing with perennial rye. It was great to chat to the teams at Happy Valley, Sha Tin and Conghua to see the challenges they face with this grass and their maintenance practices. This will also improve my planning as I am relatively new to management, therefore it was good to see all the planning and preparation that the management teams do at the racecourses and training centres – this is where I can have some real development.”

“A real great benefit is building these new relationships with all the people I came across in Hong Kong and China, as no doubt our paths will meet again in the future.”

Jake pictured with the Hong Kong Jockey Club staff (from left to right) Kiki, Sally and Raymond.

Are there any New Techniques that can be applied at the Australian Turf Club?

“When it comes to managing organic matter levels in the soil there are many practices that I can continue to use going forward. They may not be something that I can bring into my work straight away but now I have witnessed them it has given me a different perspective on greenkeeping. I was also quite interested in the way they recycle their materials, such as collecting their cores regularly and re integrating them into their fill soil to be used on the track again. When Randwick’s profile is where it needs to be this is something we may look at. Or even adding amendments and other things into our fill soil as it is high in sand, such as the parts of organic matter that the Hong Kong Jockey Club do. Looking at their turf nursery they use for turfing the track… that is one area where we are currently lacking, therefore keeping it consistent with the track was nice to see. I would love to bring that in one day.”

“It was such a great thing to see how efficient everyone was. It feels like everybody knows their role and what needs to be done. This guarantees that all the 1%er’s get completed and nothing gets missed. It was something that I think I can try incorporating into my team to make sure we are as efficient as we possibly can be during our busy carnival schedules. I also really enjoyed chatting to the team about the testing they do around every meeting, taking cores and doing a lot of testing around their moisture levels to see how a track performs and have the data to look back on – it is quite impressive.”

Jake pictured with Steriline Platinum Starting Gate at the Happy Valley Racecourse Night Races.

Is there any Feedback you wish to provide?

“I don’t think the program needs real improvement as the staff at the Hong Kong Jockey Club really did roll out the red carpet for me. They went above and beyond to really make me feel welcome the whole time I was with them.”

“I cannot complain about anything on the itinerary because I had such a great time. Every part of the business was covered, and I met so many great people from all different departments. It was such a whirlwind trip with so much to see and while I was there, I tried to take up every opportunity to get an insight on all I could. One thing that would be a nice touch for future recipients could also be getting some contact information of other people who may have worked in Australia before to arrange a sort of catch up or dinner on one or two of the nights, so you are able to pick their brains on their side of Hong Kong, not just from track staff perspective.”

Jake geared up ready to enter Conghua’s racing facility.

“Yes, definitely! I really do think anybody, not just in the racing industry but the turf industry as a whole would benefit from going to see the Hong Kong Jockey Club operation. It really is something special seeing it all firsthand. There was such a buzz around Happy Valley and Sha Tin on the race days. It was great getting amongst a different culture and meeting new people in the racing industry… it is always a real positive and is something that I will remember forever.”

Jake pictured next to Hong Kong Jockey Club staff member Chris.

Previous 2023 scholarship recipient, Mitchell Black, also reflected on the impact of this experience:

“It is a great opportunity for young and upcoming racetrack managers in Australia and gives you such a great insight into the world-class facilities on offer.”

Mitchell Black, 2023 scholarship winner at Conghua Racecourse.

Through this initiative, Steriline Racing alongside of ARMA and the Hong Kong Jockey Club aims to foster the growth and development of talented individuals within Australia’s racing industry, ensuring they return with new knowledge, enhanced skills and fresh perspectives.

Steriline encourages any Australian racecourse staff to apply for this opportunity this year! Applications open in the middle of the year.

Steriline racing highly values the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s support and commitment to quality. This was evident in 2018 where Steriline was honoured to provide an extensive array of Horse Racing Equipment during the development of the Conghua Racetrack, this included:

• Starting Gates 
• Training Gates 
• Recall and Warning Systems 
• Turf Running Rail 
• Covered Safety Rail 
• Static and Hydraulic Folding Winning Post 

And Custom Products including:

• Horse Restraint for VET hospital
• Horse Walker Componentry

Steriline Racing Static and Folding Winning Posts at Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Conghua Racecourse.