The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December.
The race was first run on 24 January 1988, and its distance was initially set at 1800 metres. The inaugural running was restricted to horses trained in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Added to this list for the following season were horses from Australia and New Zealand. The race was switched to December for its third running, therefore taking place twice within 1989. Horses trained in Europe were admitted in 1990, followed by those from the United States in 1991, and Canada and Japan in 1992. The distance was increased to its present length, 2,000 metres, in 1999. Also at this time the race was promoted to Group 1 status.
The Hong Kong Cup is one of the four Hong Kong International Races, and it presently offers a purse of HK$20,000,000 (approximately US$2.58 million).
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