Not many people visit Hong Kong without going to the races. It is where locals and visitors come together to enjoy one of the biggest sporting spectacles in the territory and to indulge in a bit of gambling. Horse racing was introduced to the territory by the British in 1841 and has been providing nonstop action since then. The Jockey Club, one of the oldest membership clubs in Asia was founded soon afterwards and has been in charge of staging the city’s horse racing for over a hundred years.
The club owns and operates the Happy Valley racetrack, the first such facility in the territory and the Sha Tin race track which was opened in 1971. The territory’s citizens of the time became fans of this new sport from its inception and betting found favour with the Chinese community who were avid gamblers. Now Hong Kong boasts the highest racing turnover in the world.
The racing season is from September to early July and meets are held on Wednesday evenings and weekends. Take a horse racing tour to experience the electric atmosphere during the day at Tim Sha and in the evenings at Happy Valley; the stands are filled to seemingly bursting capacity, the crowd goes wild cheering on their favourites and betting is at fever pitch because of the potential extraordinary rewards.
Giant screens in the stands ensure that race-goers do not miss out on any part of the action. Betting in the territory has been streamlined with a completely computerized system linking 100 betting branches in all parts of Hong Kong so that bets can be placed from anywhere without even visiting the race tracks. As the Hong Kong race season is one of the most important events in the race calendar, some of the world’s best jockeys and horses are stationed in the territory. The well heeled from around the world join everyone else to reap the benefits of huge rewards and to experience the excitement of a wonderful sporting event.
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