The Hong Kong Jockey Club will support a move to introduce a new category of black-type races, so-called Super Group One races.
In an Asian Racing Conference session titled "The Pattern: Now and in the future" on Tuesday, Super Group One races were floated by the Jockey Club's executive director of racing Bill Nader, who expressed his support for the proposal.
"I am fully in favour, and although we haven't formally discussed the idea of Super Group Ones, Hong Kong will be in favour," Nader said. "It ties in with our conference theme, in that we would be creating a platform to further connect with the customer."
The Super Group One proposal advocates a new status to recognise races which consistently have a rating higher than a standard Group One race, or those which are more prestigious or historic than an average feature.
There were 459 Group One races run worldwide in 2013, but Nader argued it was inconceivable, for example, that the world's top three races as determined by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) - the British Champion Stakes, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Prix Jacques le Marois - should be considered on par with obscure or weaker Group Ones in smaller jurisdictions.