A night at the races

To celebrate the end of Simon’s training and my sister’s visit we decided to pay a visit to the famous Happy Valley horse races.

Horse racing is big thing here in Hong Kong with thousands of locals and expats getting together at the Happy Valley racecourse on Wednesday nights to watch the races, gamble and socialize. Set in the middle of Hong Kong with skyscrapers surrounding the brightly lit track, the Happy Valley racecourse must be one of the most impressive racing venues in the world.

I found that racing here is very different from what I was used to in the UK and Sydney, where the atmosphere is sophisticated and the punters dress up, sip on champagne and nibble on canapés. Here, horse racing is very relaxed. You can wear pretty much anything and drinks are served in large plastic cups and jugs. It seems to be more about the beer and gambling than about hats and outfits.





While many of the expats come to the races for a fun and cheap night out, the locals are really into the betting, many of them sitting inside at tables with papers with score results and statistics scattered around them watching the races on tv screens. Betting on horse racing seems to be a national hobby here with the annual betting turnover approximating HK$71billion (7 biljard Euro)

Getting ready for the start

I’ve never been a big gambler but with all the betting going on around me I decided to try my luck and bet on some horses. It all looks very confusing in the beginning with terms like trifecta, quinella and trio on the betting sheets, but with a little help from one of the betting ladies I found out that it’s actually not that complicated. Still, I decided to play it safe and I only bet on single horses to place (in other words, the chosen must end 1^st,2^nd or 3^rd  place) and only betting only small amounts. With little knowledge about any of the horses, I decided to choose the horsed based on their names (how can you not bet on horses called “Dr Win”, “Fun and Fast” and “the Untouchable Lad”?). It probably wasn’t the best betting strategy and I didn’t end up winning any money but I can assure you that the races are much more fun to watch if there’s a bit of money at stake (even if it’s only HK$10) and you join the cheering as the horses near the finish hoping that your horse will magically make its way from last to first in the last 100 meters (not very likely as I found out).

And they're off!

All in all, going to the races is definitely a favourite night time activity and the combination of the al-fresco atmosphere, the exhilaration of betting and jugs of cheap beer makes for a perfect night out. And maybe next time I’ll try a different betting strategy and see if its more successful.