After a very short rest we left the hotel at 5.15 pm and took a tram to Happy Valley in order to spend the evening at the Hong Kong Jockey Club ‘Happy Wednesday’ race meeting. We spent a memorable evening here on our last visit to Hong Kong and were eager to return.
Ground entrance costs HK$10 (90p) which entitles spectators to view from the rails or seats at ground level but these seats cannot be reserved so if you leave them other people can sit down. A better option is to upgrade to seats in the Grandstand costing a nominal HK$20 each (£1.75) and as we were early our allocated seats were on the front row near the winning post and enclosure. The seats (pictured above) have a desk in front and are available in pairs and they are booked out for the entire evening so that we could leave them and return as we wished.
Included in the ticket price is a comprehensive race catalogue with detailed information on the horses and jockeys. There were 8 races during the evening and we decided to have a small bet on each one. We glanced at the race catalogue but rather than studying the form we selected horses on the following criteria -most attractive colour of Jockey’s outfit, nicest name of horse and country of origin of the horse!
We decided to make the minimum bet on each race HK$10 and completed the betting slips as best we could but found them very confusing. It was then off to one of the cash desks to pay and place our bets. Despite the fact that we think of ourselves as being reasonably intelligent, we failed miserably at completing the betting slips but a very polite steward helped us out and filled them in correctly for us.
We are not gamblers and we’ve never been to any other race meeting than Happy Valley but having a tiny flutter on each race added excitement to the evening. The racing commenced at 7.15pm as darkness fell. It’s an amazing spectacle seeing the race track surrounded by high rise buildings and the atmosphere is electric – I’d recommend it to everyone visiting Hong Kong.
There’s no danger of becoming bored as before each race the horses are paraded in the enclosure, the race then takes place and is then replayed on the giant screen. Races start at 30 minute intervals and in between a band play live music, it’s all very jolly. There’s champagne and wine bars but as it was hot we quenched our thirst with pints of lager and tucked into giant hot dogs (this evening being our only concession to western food).
During Race 7 a horse pulled up lame and it was impressive to observe the animal’s welfare was attended to promptly. Stewards erected privacy screens around the horse and a land rover with a horse box ambulance arrived quickly and the horse was driven away to the vets. An announcement at the end of the race meeting stated that thankfully the horse had recovered and all was well.
The race meeting finished at 11.15 pm and we’d had a splendid time even though we didn’t win any money! Our selected horses were never last, our best result was third but it didn’t matter we’d had so much fun.
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Great blog you havee
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Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad to hear you enjoy reading my posts.
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Our tour group only drove by the race course. I have heard it is an exciting place to visit during the horse racing season. Allan
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HappyValley is the only racecourse I’ve ever been to and it’s a night to remember. We’ve been three times now. It will be interesting to see if it continues in its present form, I do hope so.
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Pingback: Day 6. An Evening at Happy Valley Racecourse – Love Travelling Blog
I’m traveling with a friend to HK for the first time this year so thanks for your reviews! I discovered a lot of places not listed on Google. Haha. Happy Valley is one of them. I’ve never been to a race track and this seems like a fun thing to experience. Are the races very quick?
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The races vary in length but last several minutes, it’s a real fun evening but there are no races in July or August as it’s too hot for them.
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Thanks for the additional info! We’re going on the last week of December this year so I guess we’ll be able to experience it 🙂
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Pingback: Day 7. An evening at Happy Valley | Blogging about all things
I spent many a happy Wednesday at the races. A few drinks to celebrate a win or a few drinks to forget about the losses. Glad you had fun. Great post!
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Thanks do much for your encouraging comments, it’s much appreciated.
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Great to have your account of the evening. I’ve spent my share of time at tracks in the U.S., and both times I’ve been to HK, my hotel looked down on the track, but I was on business, and never made it there. And, thank goodness you decided to put some money on the horses. I can’t conceive of NOT doing that!
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Thanks for commenting – I hope you get an opportunity to attend a race meeting at Happy Valley if ever you are in HK again. It would have been quite boring if we hadn’t put any bets on as it was fun cheering our horses on!
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Never been to anything like this before but it sounds like a lot of fun. Think I would also be picking the horse with the best name…
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Definitely! Much nicer than studying the form. We enjoyed every minute and race goers there don’t wear ridiculous hats and totter on high heels like at Ascot and York. I haven’t been to an English race meeting but I’ve ended up on trains with them !
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I lived about 5 minutes walk away from the racetrack and loved going. It’s a great big noisy festival every week and a lot of fun. The betting slips are the most complicated I have ever seen but like all good gambling opportunities the staff are very good at helping you lose your money. Watching the Hong Kong Chinese, who will gamble on almost anything, was great fun as the excitement they generate is wonderful. And seemed to be the same whether they won or not.
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Thank you for your interesting observations on Happy Valley and it’s re-assuring to learn that we weren’t the only ones who found the betting slips complicated!
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It must be fun. I have never been to a race track. But I have seen polo match in USA for the first time last January. It is not something we see it in Canada except in Alberta, I think… As for Happy Valley. It is funny because…to make a long story short. We were invited to a couple’s apartment (they are Canadians and work in HK) that is just facing the race track. But we were there on a Tuesday .
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Thank you for your nice comments, what a pity you were there on a Tuesday and missed it, maybe another time!
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Enjoyed your race report! Going to both Happy Valley and Shatin are two things we would like to do next time we are in Hong Kong. Cheers, Mark
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You will have an amazing time at the race meetings Mark, thank you for reading my post!
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Didn’t manage to go for the race meeting when I visited Hong Kong about 8 years ago. Thanks for sharing this lively story.
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Tharpt’s a pleasure, and I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
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Seems like lot of fun; have never tried it before..
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A great venue to attend a race meeting but I wouldn’t think of going at home.
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Wow, I have never experienced any kind of race like this. It would be a very interesting experience, thank you for this write up. I can only imagine how clueless I would be with the betting slips, LOL!
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Thanks Suvi, we thought it was so funny that we couldn’t complete the betting forms even though they were in English but it was such a fun evening out and the band playing Coldplay covers were good too.
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I stayed at the Cosmopolitan Hotel just nearby Happy Valley Racecourse but only went there to run around the outside track when the races were not on of course. Lovely to hear the animal welfare – thanks for a lovely post Marion…really glad you enjoyed your time in HK.
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Thanks for your lovely comments Sue! I could return to HK anytime but am tempted to visit mainland China now after reading your posts!
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How nice of you to say that. Thank you.
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An amazing night observing the locals at the HK races. I visited Shatin races when I went as there was no meet at HV. A brilliant experience even though my bets were disastrous! Best atmosphere at racing I have ever witnessed.
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So pleased you enjoyed the experience too! Hong Kong is such an amazing place to visit!
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Been to Hong Kong but never at a race – thanks for the lively story!
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It’s a pleasure! Thanks for commenting.
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Never heard of this race, but it sounds like a great time!
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