The Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Racecourse

The racecourse is a great place to hang out on a Wednesday night! I can definitely see myself coming here with a group of friends and having a fun time with some beers and food, maybe some betting. The admission is just $ 10HKD which is just a little over $ 1 USD… fun and affordable? I’m there! Glad I was able to make a visit on my trip here to HK. Highly recommend anyone visiting to stop by here if you’re in the area on a Wednesday.

Definitely the expat thing to do in Hong Kong. Wednesday night is race night. For a mere 10HKD, you can get into the general admission area where it’s just a huge party.
Beer tents, theme nights, raffles, food– it’s all here. And the people watching? Top notch!
There are several other options that cost a bit more like the Terrace and the dining room, but all the cool people fill the general admission stands.
Fun time– a must do for residents, transients and visitors.

4.5 Stars.
Nomination and membership by invite only. One of the oldesnt establishments in Hong Kong and biggest tax payer (for obvious reasons) this place is a joy to visit. I already like to people watch, and gamble, add on horse watching? Yes PLEASE. These magnificent thoroughbreds galloping, rumbling, racing was awesome. Put a few dollars down on your horse (s) and it makes it even funner as you cheer (loudly please) on.
Nestled smack dab in the middle of a huge, bustling metropolis, this club is superbly maintained, and attracts locals and expats alike. You’ll meet people from all over the world here and thats what makes it the best.
Betting is not simple if you can’t read chinese, but just ask an employee and they can help. I attached a picture as an example. You can drop 1USD to whatever so dont be shy!
There are restaurants inside, food vendors outside. I’m more an outside guy, so visiting all the vendors on the grounds while horses run was just pure joy.
This night there were about 12 races. Each race itself last minutes. Then the wait in between races is maybe 30−40min each. The wait is what drops it from a 5 star to 4.5 star for me as it is way too tempting to eat more, bet more (I am sure it is planned on purpose that way, hehe).
Perfect to bring your love. Perfect to bring a group of friends. Perfect for a first date. Perfect to bring the fam. Perfect for anything basically, come see Hong Kong Jockey Club as a MUST DO in your Hong Kong visit.

In my adult life, I’ve been to 3 horse tracks.
1) Golden Gate Fields … which is sort of depressing and they lure you there with dollar hot dogs.
2) Churchill Downs — not during Derby week unfortunately, but in corporate sponsored sections where I won a trifecta and impressed my CEO and gave me over confidence in picking a winner.
3) HK Jockey Club where my friend’s aunt’s horse won something something and wouldn’t have to race again for 6 more months. Did you know that? The horses race only once every few months … (noob that I am thought they raced a couple of times a night!)
Anyway, this place is gigantic and really really crowded. I think I spent about 45 minutes just walking around outside trying to find the main entrance … there are a lot of special entrances for VIPs. Not sure if it’s year round, but there were booths set up all over the place celebrating Octoberfest (surely that’s not year round). I ended up here my first night in Hong Kong so the last thing I wanted to eat was bratwurst, the beer hit the spot though.
The bets here were all just slightly different than what I am used to … and not being able to read or communicate with the locals didn’t help. So I lost some money, drank some beer and got caught up in the excitement. Worth a visit!

Yeah, race track!
So I am not into racing. Not really. But it’s so hard not to get caught up in the joy of this place.
The race tracks are one of the most local things you can do in Hong Kong and they are not to be missed. Find out when the next race is going on and go.
When you get there, find a staff member who can show you how to place a bet. It’s a little complicated if you’ve never done it before but don’t miss out, it makes watching the races so much more fun (even if it’s just a dollar or two.)
Then, grab a beer and wait for the race. Cheer your horse. Win big!
The only issue I had with this place is the signage to get in, which was existent. We walked almost all the way around it trying to find the entrance and could not. It was hot and awful and they needed way better signs.
But beyond that, it was great and I’m happy I went.

You’d think that I’m really into horse racing to give a racecourse 5 stars, but I’ve got nothing to hide — I go for what’s essentially a huge party with a few thousand of your closest could-​be acquaintances!
The racecourse on Wednesday evenings is the place to be. And what a place it is: well-​maintained grounds surrounded by gorgeous skyscrapers as handsome horses run past, you realize just how good you have it living in Hong Kong.
Sure, you can place bets and hopefully win some cash. But I enjoy being more of a non-​invested spectator who hangs out near the beer garden, soaking up the incredibly buzzy atmosphere.
The best part? Admission is a nominal $ 10HKD and can be paid simply by swiping your Octopus card.
This is the good life, yeah?

Such a fun place to be in HK. Came here with a friend and we both enjoyed the lovely skyline view, winning on our first and only bet, and being able to buy beer right alongside with Chinese concession food. The crowd is young and beautiful and the staff was happy to explain how the betting works.
It’s only $ 10 HKD entrance fee and you can even pay with your octopus card!

Even if you hated horses, or were unreasonably terrified of them because you are a huge pussy, you’d still love this race track. This place is just a party. You need zero horse racing clues to enjoy yourself here.
The first time I came, I was not expecting such an amazing view of the city from the track. Our goal was to find the buffet, but we never did. We said screw it, and joined the lively masses at ground level in the beer garden. When the race started, we had front row seats. By seats, I mean we were sandwiched in right on top of the gate. Close enough to feel the wave of thunder brought on by the horses hurdling themselves around the track. I mean, it was all very dramatic. People screaming, beer sloshing, hearts pounding, stomachs growling … damn that illusive buffet.

When I was a kid, I always thought horse racing was a very «local» thing to do, with «Uncle Bill» on commentary at an unbelievable pace and some incomprehensible jargon. On ATV too, if you were from the same era too.
Apparently things have changed since then. The Hon. Ronald Arculli, the former chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, made a series of transformation from within the Jockey Club, and re-​branded it as a more friendly, not-​just-​so-​about-​gambling kind of entertainment. (But still, the gambling pool in HK is 6^th largest in the world.)
Indeed, the first time I was at the Beer Garden, I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean, with beer tents, very organized queues and betting booths, helpful staff. The local, aggressive kind of gamblers (those looked like the age of my grandpa) were sitting far away from the Beer Garden, concentrating on their bets. For those in the here were a younger crowd, cared not so much about the races but more about the fun.
One should also appreciate the effort they made to blend in other festivals too. Often there were live bands, or people dressing up for different occasions. Hell yeah, they even started calling it «Happy Wednesdays» too, ditching the fact that there are races going on, and also the fact that the races happen in Happy Valley are always on Wednesday anyway.
Well, this is the place I don’t mind coming with a bunch of friends enjoying a Wednesday, given the non-​existent entry fee (HKD$ 10, or free in a lot of occasions). I don’t even feel like having to gamble whenever I am here.

friends brought me to the Gallop restaurant inside here for a nice meal. members bringing you to dinner is such a bonus!

On a Wednesday night after work I cannot think of a better plan than heading to the Jockey Club to see horse races and, well, a drink. Wednesday is ‘par excellence’ the tourists/​expats day at Happy Valley, and the atmosphere is amazing. Even if you don’t like/​have a clue about betting, everyone is welcome to join as it is more of a social gathering than anything else.
My first impression of the horsecourse was about the scale of the construction, as I wasn’t expecting such a big open up space in the middle of the city. I’ve always been there at night so this feeling was even enhanced by it being brightly lightened and the lively vibe. Most Wednesdays there have been some show going on, whether it was live music, or wine festival. I was there on a wine event and it was seriously packed. If you decide to stay at ground level, to take some pictures and buy some food or drink, you’ll easily get into a party mood. On my second time a couple of us sat down in the stands where people were more concerned about their bets than having a good time. But it was cool to see the horses from afar or, actually, see the horses, and it gets really busy down at ground level and you may be lucky if you catch a good shot! The facilities are also pretty good — if you’re a member you’ll obviously get a better chance to see the races and bet for your horse, as member’s area is placed separately in an upper floor inside the main building. Races happen both on Wednesday evenings or on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday afternoon) but if you’ve got friends over or just want to have a good time with friends, Wednesday is definitely the day to go!

There are two racecourses for horse racing here in Hong Kong, one near Fo Tan and one in Happy Valley. And there are a few notes for all the first-​timers here:
First, check the schedule on the website to make sure they do have races on that day; it would be a shame that you travel all the way to the race course and realize there isn’t any races that day.
After that, I HIGHLY recommend tourists to go to the latter one. Normally the one in Fo Tan has the races in the morning while the one in Happy Valley starts after 6pm. So why happy valley? Not only is it on Hong Kong island, you can also find way more tourists here to chat with instead of in Fo Tan where you will be surrounded by middle aged men who cannot really speak English. To me, those in Fo Tan are hardcore gambling while those in Happy Valley are more about enjoying the atmosphere while having a couple of drinks and betting for fun.
So where is the perfect place to watch the race? If you are more of an atmosphere guy, STAY on the ground floor. I understand it is super packed there but it is the perfect place to mingle and feel the excitement when the race begins. Everyone will stand next to the fences and you can feel th horses running nearby. However, if you prefer the magnificence of the view, go to the top floor and you will be very pleased with it. But it is rather quiet and I prefer the ground floor still.
There is a fast-​food chain inside but it is even more expensive than those outside, I strongly recommend having your meal before coming; also, it will be a free entry period after 10:30pm as the race is almost over; Most races happen on Wednesday evening, a.k.a. Happy Wednesday and it is one of the best events in Hong Kong. After that you may see lots of people lining up to get on the trams to one of the two places, either Wanchai (ladies night on Wednesday) or LKF. Happy valley surely is a nice pre-​game! So drink on!

I’ve only been to the racecourses once and I don’t actually know anything about betting, so I can’t assure you that this review will be very useful to you especially if you’re intending to go there to do some serious gambling. For most of us, it was our first times there so none of us really had any clue about betting.
We arrived there at close to eight on empty stomachs — we assumed we could have dinner there, and well, we weren’t entirely correct. Since we’re not members and didn’t want to be paying for the buffet dinner, our only option was the snack stand that sold finger foods like nachos and fries. They weren’t cheap and there wasn’t much of a variety to choose from. There were tons of stands selling different beers and we got a pitcher of Hoegaarden beer (and then returned for another one later on). One pitcher set us back around $ 270. So food-​wise, a night at the races isn’t cheap and there isn’t much food to choose from.
The stands for us to watch the horses from were really crowded and it was hard to find a spot for all five of us to squeeze. We couldn’t get a very good view either because there was always people blocking us. I suppose if we were members and went to the members’ only stand this wouldn’t be a problem, but we weren’t members so we had to make do. As for the actual betting, like I said, we had no idea what was the proper way to do it. We found a random guidebook lying on one of the tables and used the statistics of horses and their past placings to determine which to bet on. There are many modes of betting, but we just stuck with two. One was the ‘win’ method — we bet on one horse and if it places first we win, and the ‘quinella place’ method — we pick three horses and if at least two get a placing within the first three spots, we win (at least, that’s what we gathered!) We only started betting at race 6 and it wasn’t till our last race that we won. Subtracting all the money we had bet that night, our earnings were tiny in comparison, but it was a victory nonetheless!
I would say that the horse races are a fun activity to come to with friends once in a while. The atmosphere is really cheery and there’s nothing like having your eyes glued to the field, wondering if that horse will outrun the other and emerge victorious. I was a little hoarse at the end of it all from all that screaming actually! I however didn’t like that the stands were so cramped and that food was so expensive and limited. I feel as though members would have a much, much better experience than non-​members here which is a little unfair!