A Night at the Races

Happy Valley Racecourse for the Wednesday night races

On our second night in Hong Kong we were off to the races!  Happy Valley Racecourse was the most fun we could have imagined on a Wednesday night.  The setting is amazing, nestled among the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island.  People watching, horse racing, socializing, cheap and yummy food (a French theme last week), a little wagering . . . what more could you ask for?

Speaking of betting, more than $20 million HKD ($2.5 million USD) were bet on most of the races!  We certainly didn't add much to that tally, as our largest bets were $10 HKD (about $1.25 USD).  Happy Valley is the place to see and be seen on Wednesday nights, especially for Westerners traveling or living in Hong Kong.  We also met several locals, including a couple of Dow Chemical employees that David enjoyed talking with (he was an engineer with Dow in Louisiana during college).

And they're off!  One of eight races of the evening.

The crowds mingling at Happy Valley Racecourse with the city in the background

We loved it so much that we decided to go to the races again our second Wednesday night in the city.  This week the races were at Sha Tin Raceourse in the New Territories region of Hong Kong.  The experience was quite different from Happy Valley.  It was a much more local and subdued crowd, definitely more focused on gambling than socializing.  We were able to get really close to the horses after the races, which we really enjoyed.  It was another fun night in Hong Kong!

Sha Tin Racecourse