Happy Valley Racecourse

Horse racing is the most popular live spectator sport in Hong Kong, not least because it offers one of the few legal ways to gamble in the city. An evening at the races here is also hugely atmospheric and is one of the quintessential Hong Kong things to do, if you happen to be around during one of the roughly fortnightly Wednesday evening races. The punters pack into the stands and trackside, and the atmosphere is electric.

The first horse races were held in 1846 at Happy Valley and became an annual event. Now meetings are held both here and at the newer and larger (but less atmospheric) Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories. If you know nothing about horse racing but would like to attend, consider joining the Come Horseracing Tour available through Splendid Tours & Travel (www.splendidtours.com) during the racing season. The tour includes admission to the Visitors’ Box of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Members’ Enclosures and a buffet lunch. Tours scheduled at night last about 5½ hours, while daytime tours are about seven hours long.

Though probably one for racing buffs only, you can also visit the Hong Kong Racing Museum, which has eight galleries and a cinema showcasing celebrated trainers, jockeys and horseflesh, and key races over the past 150 years. The most important event in the history of the Happy Valley Racecourse – individual winnings notwithstanding – was the huge fire in 1918 that killed hundreds of people. Many of the victims were buried in the cemeteries surrounding the track.