Horse racing has been ingrained in Hong Kong culture since it was brought to Hong Kong from the British in the 1840’s. Currently two main racecourses, the Happy Valley Racecourse and the Sha Tin Racecourse, host millions of visitors and billions of HKD$ in bets each year. Take a few hours of your time in Hong Kong to witness a race! It doesn’t take too much time and entrance is very affordable.

Which Hong Kong Racecourse Should You Visit?

Hong Kong is home to two main racecourses:

Sha Tin Racecourse is located in the New Territories area of Hong Kong. Races are held in the daytime on Sundays. The atmosphere of the races is more business-like, whereas the vibe of Happy Valley Racecourse is more of an evening party experience.

Happy Valley Racecourse, located on Hong Kong Island, has races on Wednesday evenings. Happy Valley’s “party” vibe is not at all raucous, but does add a bit more fun with short live concerts between races. We chose to visit Happy Valley Racecourse for the fun ambiance as well as the fact that we’d be in the area that day already. Happy Valley Racecourse is conveniently located just south of Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island.

Happy Valley Racecourse

You can enter Happy Valley Racecourse via a quick scan of your Octopus card, but I recommend purchasing a seat in the stands. Seats are super cheap, starting at just $20 HKD. My recommendation for seat selection: Go for the second floor seating 2/F, and the second row from the front (seat number 400’s) gives the best view without obstruction from the safety railing. Section A is near the finish line and it’s quite fun when the crowd starts cheering near the finish. We watched most races from the comfort of our seats, but did watch one from the standing room only section right up near the track. The winning horse does a victory jog right by the spectators and the victorious jockey will come back around and high-five the viewers!

Betting At The Racecourse

You by no means have to bet during your time at the racecourse, but ample opportunities exist if you do wish to! Betting cards are available at indoor kiosks. There were endless different (and confusing) combinations of how to bet on a given race, but there were lots of assistants standing by to help confused patrons like ourselves to fill our the betting sheets.

A lot of superstition goes into betting on horses in Hong Kong. Hard core betters sat indoors to be closer to the betting stations, viewing the live races from TV screens. Some people stayed there for several hours watching every race, eating dinner from the food court, and poring over the race day newspaper. These pages document past performance and current conditions of the horses, jockeys, and the racetrack.

All in all, an evening spent at Happy Valley Racecourse was a great use of an evening in Hong Kong. I recommend visiting on your next trip!