HONG KONG: HAPPY VALLEY RACECOURSE RE-OPENS
English/Nat
They're off and running again at Happy Valley, Hong Kong's famous racetrack.
The facility had been closed since February while undergoing a facelift to take it into the 21st century under Chinese rule.
Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten officially reopened the track on Saturday, watched by 50-thousand other horse-racing devotees.
APTV went to the races and discovered the true fascination of Hong Kong horse racing.
For over a century, millions of people have been flocking to the Hong Kong horse races in the hopes of making their fortune -- or just to have fun.
But for the last nine months, the stands have been empty while the race track got a face-lift.
On Saturday, Hong Kong's famed Happy Valley racetrack was full again.
In fact the starved spectators were so eager that the track was nearly filled to capacity 3 hours before the first scheduled race.
Anxious punters watched as the horses for the first race were led to the paddock.
The nine-month renovation was the course's first major change since British settlers first raced at Happy Valley some 150 years ago.
The new, all-turf track has almost been doubled in width to 99 feet to accommodate full fields of 14 horses.
Its turns, previously considered dangerously narrow, have been made wider and gentler.
With a Chinese lion dance and a colonial stamp of approval from the British Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, the famous track was back in business.
For days before the races, racing fans and horseowners poured over betting figures.
Two generations of the Lee family have raced horses at Happy Valley.
In his restaurant overlooking the racecourse, Benson Lee gives his son Derek and friends tips for the first race in nine months.
At long last, they're out. And the race begins.
Darryll Holland, one of the youngest, and best, jockeys in Hong Kong has raced in many tracks throughout the world.
SOUNDBITE:
Facilities in Hong Kong rate very highly compared to everywhere else because they've got the money to spend. And the tote enables that through the money being subsided to finance the racetracks and the trainers and the jockeys so the facilities are second to none really.
SUPERCAPTION: Darryll Holland, jockey
Mr Lee -- who races three horses -- says Hong Kong's racing is all to do with money.
SOUNDBITE:
Well, as far as the facilities and the quality of the racetrack, I think Hong Kong is number 1. But the horse racing from elsewhere is different from Hong Kong because Hong Kong is mainly gambling and in other countries it's like a sport.
SUPERCAPTION: Benson Lee, horse owner
Like everything else in this frenetic city, betting is big bucks. Last year's betting turn-over was an incredible 72 (b) billion dollars U-S -- about 12-thousand dollars for every one of Hong Kong's 6 million people.
The Jockey Club estimates a total of over 1(b) billion dollars were bet on re-opening night alone.
By a stroke of strange fortune, the winner of the first race was also the winner of the last race before the Happy Valley Racecourse shut down for renovations.
It was all too much for some in the crowd.
Judging from the attendance today, Hong Kong's love affair with horse racing is set to continue.
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Happy Valley Racecourse - Hong Kong, China
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Happy Valley Racecourse Hong Kong
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Travel blogs from Happy Valley Racecourse:
- ... From there we took bus 15 up to 'The Peak' en route taking in lots of views of Happy Valley Racecourse and Aberdeen ...
- ... Happy Valley Racecourse Having had my share of walking, I took a bus to my next destination: the horse track ...
- ... The 'chosen attractions' were the Happy Valley Racecourse, and Temple Street Night Market ...
- ... Still I decided to make my way on foot from Wan Chai where the hotel was right next to the Happy Valley racecourse all the way to the harbour and catch a ferry across to Kayloon ...
- ... it even has a market) On the second day we visited Happy Valley Racecourse which has the most amazing vista of any sporting venue you can imagine as it`s overlooked by hundreds of high ...
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Photos from:
- Hong Kong, China
Photos in this video:
- Me playing football inside happy valley racecourse by Richardcowley from a blog titled Christmas is nearly here
- Happy Valley Racecourse back in the day by Thomaswguy from a blog titled Just a little one
- Jono at Happy Valley Racecourse by Anneowens from a blog titled Hong Kong... again
- Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong by Leeandcathy from a blog titled Hong Kong Part 2
- Happy Valley Racecourse at Night by Tartanbeat from a blog titled A Night at the Races
- Happy Valley Racecourse Now by Thomaswguy from a blog titled Just a little one
- Happy Valley Racecourse by Jimandmargarida from a blog titled Hong Kong
- Happy Valley Racecourse 4 by Rowlandm from a blog titled Hong Kong
- Happy Valley Racecourse2 by Poweller from a blog titled Hong Kong
Michael Palin at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong - Around the World in 80 Days - BBC
Michael Palin attends the first twilight meeting of the year's racing calendar. Fantastic free video clip from the BBC.
Happy Valley Racecourse in 360 degrees part 2
Hear the crowd excitement build as the racehorses cross the finish line at Happy Valley night races in Hong Kong.
Horse Racing Chinese New Year 2019 @Happy Valley Racecourse
Pacuan Kuda Menjelang Hari Raya Imlek Cina Di Stadium Happy Valley HK
How This Man Profited $1 Billion Betting on Hong Kong Horse Races
Bill Benter, is a reserved unassuming and media shy pittsburg resident who made almost 1 billion dollars by gambling on horse races.
The man was a mathematical genius who was on the cutting edge of both computer science and statistical modelling so it is widely assumed with his business knowledge that he could have made money just about anywhere, in a rare interview when asked about his success in horse racing he said, “I was driven only partly by money, I believe I probably could have made more money in finance, but that didn’t interest me, I didn’t get into professional horse racing because it was hard, but because it was said to be impossible”
I am now moving to an upload schedule of every week on Wednesday.
As always I have attached references to this video below. If you have any further questions please feel free to discuss in the comments section and I will do my very best to answer everything to the best of my ability.
-References-
Kit Chellel The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code Bloomberg Business
Snyder, W.W., 1978. Horse racing: Testing the efficient markets model. The Journal of finance, 33(4), pp.1109-1118.
Williams, J. and Li, Y., 2008. A case study using neural networks algorithms: Horse racing predictions in Jamaica. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ICAI 2008) (pp. 16-22). CSREA Press.
Edelman, D., 2005. A competitive horse-race handicapping algorithm based on analysis of covariance. In The economics of gambling (pp. 122-129). Routledge.
Chou, K.P., 2007. Hong Kong and Macau under one country, two systems. In Interpreting China's Development (pp. 67-71).
All footage courtesy of Storyblocks
Barrelrollman - Happy Valley Horse Club, Hong Kong Island, China 1-2009
Happy Valley Racecourse is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island. It was first built in 1845 to provide horse racing for the British people in Hong Kong. Before it was built, the area was a swampland, but also the only flat ground suitable for horse racing on Hong Kong Island. To make way for the racecourse, Hong Kong Government prohibited rice growing by villages in the surrounding area. The first race ran in December 1846. Over the years, horse racing became more and more popular among the Chinese residents. Barrel Rolling in the spectator area of the race track after winning a white-knuckle rock, paper, sissors match was a thrill! Keep it rollin' at
Happy Valley Racecourse in 360 degrees part 1
Watch the thoroughbreds launch from the starting gate at Happy Valley night races in 360 degree video as the crowd gets excited.
Happy Valley Racecourse - Wan Chai District, Hong Kong | Joanna Oan
Happy Valley Racecourse - Wan Chai District, Hong Kong | Jianna Oan.
The Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing and is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road
☃ Transportasion Inpormation
⇒ MTR Causeway Bay station - Exit A
⇒ Address : 2 Sports Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island
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Horse Racing VIP Experience at Happy Valley | Hong Kong
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Day in the life of a Hong Kong expat 2019 (mongkok & happy valley race course) - Ep.2
A short little day in the life where i visit Mongkok, shamshui po and happy valley race course. Any questions hit me up :)
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Happy Valley Racecourse Hong Kong
Hong Kong - Ngong Ping 360, Big Buddha & Happy Valley Racecourse
Hong Kong - Honeymoon Day 2
First full day in Hong Kong and we are ready to explore what this city has to offer! First up we get the Ngong Ping 360 Crystal cable car, which is a popular attraction for locals and tourists. There’s a few steps to take to visit the Big Buddha but (260 odd to be precise) but the views are well worth the exercise, as long as the weathers on your side!
In the evening we head to the spectacular Happy Valley racecourse which takes place twice a week. Wow what a day!!
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Hong Kong 6 - Happy Valley Racecourse 快活谷馬場
I visit 快活谷馬場 (Happy Valley Racecourse) with my new friend and hostel-mate Laura to enjoy some high stakes sportsmanship. A fun place to drink Carlsberg in the middle of the city that is not a bar, the racetrack has food, beer, lots of foreigners and a great view. I bet on Bulb Treasure and lost... damn it Bulb Treasure!
Hong Kong's most exclusive club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the most prestigious institutions in Hong Kong with entry limited to a select band of horse-racing enthusiasts.
Happy Valley racetrack, Hong Kong
Tight 1400m city track, with high rising stands and tall apartment blocks as a backdrop.
Magic Man and the Magnificent Eight (with Chinese subtitles)
Whether you’re a believer or not, “eight” has been said to be auspicious – and it seemed to have carried star jockey Joao Moreira through to take the first-ever Hong Kong record of eight wins in one single day!
Setting a Hong Kong racing record as well as a personal one, it’s no wonder celebrations are taking place one after another upon the finish line: champagne showers at the race tracks followed by the warm father-and-son embrace! What does the Magic Man himself have to say about it?
#HappyWednesdayHK #GoRacingHK #WhatMakesYouHappy
Find your HAPPY Wednesday in HAPPY Valley!
For more fun from Happy Wednesday, visit
Subscribe to Fasttrack, Hong Kong's horse racing and lifestyle channel
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HONG KONG: FIRST HORSE RACE UNDER CHINESE RULE IS HELD
Cantonese/Nat
Tens of thousands of spectators gathered at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong on Saturday for the first horse race of the season under Chinese rule.
The first race under way was the Chief Executive's Cup, named in honour of the territory's first Chinese administrator, Tung Chee-hwa.
After a two and a half month hiatus, Hong Kong's new horse racing season opened with a gong from the territory's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa.
A full house packed the Hong Kong Jockey Club with 40-thousand fans in attendance.
It was the first time horse racing took place since 1 July, when the territory reverted to Chinese sovereignty.
Some differences can be detected - under British rule, a marching military band provided some musical entertainment.
Under Chinese administration, however, there were traditional Chinese cymbal players specially flown in from Mongolia and Beijing.
Lion dances, flying dragons and fireworks rounded up the opening ceremony at the 151 year old race track.
Betters were excited to resume the horse racing season.
Some say that horse racing under Chinese rule will be better than it was during British sovereignty.
SOUNDBITE (Cantonese):
Today is especially lively today. Hopefully it will always be as lively as it is today. Horse racing is a part of Hong Kong people's lifestyle.
SUPER CAPTION: Mr. Chan, horse racing fan
SOUNDBITE (Cantonese):
Of course, it's more exciting now. Because the Chinese are included and it will be much more fun.
SUPER CAPTION: Wesley Dao, horse racing fan
The first race of the season kicked off as crowds cried out in excitement.
The winner - horse number 10, Kowloon Pride - was the recipient of the first ever Chief Executive's Cup.
The inaugural Chief Executive's Cup was presented by Tung Chee-hwa himself.
From now on, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said it will be awarding the prize during opening seasons in the territory.
Gambling of any kind is illegal in China.
However horse racing - introduced by the British more than 150 years ago - is Hong Kong's passion.
Betting on the last day at the races in June, before the summer recess, totalled a record 2.54 (b) billion Hong Kong dollars (362 (m) million (US)dollars).
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HAPPY VALLEY RACECOURSE - Hong Kong!
I was skimming through my iPad and I came across this short video from Hong Kong and thought I'd just bung it on YouTube and show you guys what it's like at the Happy Valley Racecourse and race-night!
Having a Happy Wednesday at Happy Valley Racecourse!
We don't just have a great new season of midweek parties lined up for you – we have a brand-new theme song to go with them, We're Having A Happy Wednesday, sung by Jimmy Cupples who featured in Australia's first season of 'The Voice'.
Check out this music video which encapsulates all the fun, laughter, racing thrills and glamour of a Happy Wednesday party night.
Find your HAPPY Wednesday in HAPPY Valley!
For more fun from Happy Wednesday, visit
Subscribe to Fasttrack, Hong Kong's horse racing and lifestyle channel
Check out Happy Valley Racecourse
Find us on
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
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