Our vision is to see science deliver positive change to the lives of Thoroughbreds during and after their careers in racing. We are aware that the public in Hong Kong and around the world share the same passion to enhance animal welfare and we are enthusiastic to see outcomes from the work that we support help to realise this ambition. Ultimately, we want to see new knowledge translated into real improvements to the lives of horses, such as the reduction of injuries and disease, promotion of racehorse safety during training and racing and improved quality of life for horses after they retire from racing. We also hope to help cultivate young talent and professionals pursuing equine welfare research and to share information with the public on horse health and welfare.
We expect that the research benefits will raise the overall standard of equine welfare in Hong Kong, Mainland China and elsewhere. We will also share the research outcomes and knowledge with our international industry peers and the public to benefit the racing and equine industry around the world. Therefore, we require that the findings of all studies that we fund be presented openly, published in academic media and disseminated to relevant stakeholders in the racing and equine industry and members of public. Furthermore, we plan to organise a conference every four years that will bring researchers, racing officials, trainers, horse owners and those involved with caring for retired racehorses together to explore how the latest research findings can be applied to best effect.
The Foundation received many excellent research proposals from around the world in response to its third call for applications in January 2023. We are delighted to announce offers of awards for seven new projects have been confirmed and the overall research funding commitment of the Foundation for 26 projects reached HKD28 million. Findings from each project, which all focus on important welfare-related topics, will be shared widely and summaries will be published on this page upon completion of the projects.
The Foundation gratefully acknowledges specialists from around the world who donate their time to review research applications on its behalf. Undertaking a project review is a demanding and time-consuming process and yet critical to the success of our funding operation. Our colleagues who have kindly assisted with this process for the Foundation are listed here.
List of Projects funded by the Foundation
