HAPPY VALLEY RACECOURSE
Address: 2 Sports Road, Happy Valley
Phone: 852 2895 1523; 852 2966 8111
http://www.happyvalleyracecourse.com/
Traveler Reviews
Horse Racing at night – a greta experience in Hong Kong!!
Reviewed on Feb 19, 2009
if you are there in HK on a wed night – then head to the Race course at Happy Valley. the atmosphere is grt – more so because the races are held under lights… the cheapest entry fee is $10HK… this gets you at the ground level… closer to the food and beer and ring-side view. the prices keep going up and that means you can sit in the stands or even have a dinner date at the races… buy your tickets from the many booths within the area… i had no clue about which horse was good or bad, so i got hold of a detailed race chart for the day, that gave the past 10 performances of each horse, the name of the owner, its rating… etc… i thought that would help… hahaha, but it was not to be… but its always great betting on some unknown entity and then keeping your fingers crossed hoping that the entity can perform a miracle… the ambience was so good… hot dogs, beer, lots of yelling and screaming, and happy valley looks beautiful on a race night… so this is a must thing to do when in HK… there are usually 10 races in one night if i got the info correctly… min bet is $10HK… Address: Hongkong Island Directions: in the middle of happy valley… if you take the tram, then get off at the last stop… pam-a-dei (i think) is what you call it locally… its known also as the jockey club…
What a night!!!
Reviewed on Feb 1, 2009
It was the last night of a 4 week trip(had been to Oz and stayed in Hong Kong for 4 nights to finish off) and we wanted to do something fun so headed to Happy Valley Racecourse and what a fantastic night we had!!! Was a Wednesday and was really busy and had a great atmosphere! Im not that into horseracing but totally loved it, seeing the horses in the parade ring before the races was fab. We had to ask how to fill in the race slips and the staff were very helpful and spoke perfect English too! We paid the 100 dollars to get into the members area (tourist pass) but we actually spent most of our time in the non members area so i dont think we really needed the tourist passes to be honest! There are a lot of regulars and if they put their newspapers over the seats (so they can go and put on bets) then dont sit in those seats!! we made that mistake and had an unhappy Chinese man come back to the seats we had sat in!! oops! Anyway, all in all a great fun night out and we won 4 races out of 8 which was fab!!
Great night out!
Reviewed on Oct 15, 2008
On my 2nd trip to Hong Kong I was finally able to make it to this in town race course for the Wednesday night races. And what a fun experience it was! One of our group found out that for HK100 (approx 13USD) you can get a “tourist” pass for the racecourse. This essentially allows you access to most areas of the course including the parade area and the standing space right by the finish line. It’s easy to get the pass – just go into the lodge box entrance (not the main gate at the end) and you will see a sign for “tourist passes” The staff behind the window will check your passport (to make sure you have HK stamp) and then give you a small tag to attach to your shirt or pants once you have paid the fee. Inside the course you can get the racing forms and booklets. Placing bets was easy, although some of the options are different. In addition we discovered after a few races that it seems to be easier to win, so make sure you keep all of your tickets and bring them back to the window to double check. The only down side to the night was the food – we waited until late in the card to eat and didn’t have very many options. I would suggest eating early or elsewhere. Getting to the course was easy – you can take the MTR to Times Square and once you are outside there are fairly obvious signs to the track. It is about a 10 min walk – you can also just get a cab ride which we did after with no problem. Finally on the night we were there the infield was full of beer tents and games for “Octoberfest” It seems like most weeks they have some sort of promotion or fun activity in this area. While this makes the racing some what less serious, it is a great distraction for those less interested in the horses. As a result we felt that the course had something for everyone in our group – the serious fans watches the races, reviewed the horses and made a few bets, while the rest of us enjoyed a few beers, met some interesting people and enjoyed the great night view. I would highly recommend adding this to your HK plans – I’m just sorry it took me a second trip to get out there!
Great night out- March 2008
Reviewed on Apr 17, 2008
Just a quick review – Me and my wife went to happy valley racecourse in March whilst in hong Kong and had a great night out. The setting is quite unique in among all the high rise buildings. It is not exspensive (in fact very cheap) there are lots of food/drink counters. Everything is in English and there are alot of very helpful staff on hand to help you out if needed!! There is no point in mentioning anything else which has not already been said in the previous review by Ajhaeh which is a very good review, apart from you will have a good night out!!
Fantastic experience
Reviewed on Jan 12, 2008
As Horse racing enthusiasts we couldn’t resist the temptation of a little flutter when we found that there was a meeting at Happy Valley during our stay in Hong Kong. It was a Wednesday night meeting and following threads in the forum we headed for the Causway Bay MTR station about 2 hrs before the first race.. as we knew there would be one or two going along 
As you exit the MTR, follow the signs for Leighton Road and then the floodlights can be seen in the distance. It was well sign posted but by this time the crowds had started and we just followed along. We made our way to entrance E, the Members main entrance, where upon presentation of your passport you get a Members Day pass for 100 HKD. This entitles you to go anywhere in the massive stadium where a member can go. Any doubts on where that is, is easily decided by the vast number of staff on hand to help you. Everyone spoke English and the betting was explained and we sat above the winning post in the members enclosure. It was breathtaking looking up at the 9 or 10 storey high stands with all the punters duly awaiting the horses. Programmes in English were available and there was numerous food counters and coffee bars. There was a ‘pomp’ surrounding the occaision where the horses are led out by riders in a red uniform and the winner is then led to show off in front of the crowd. It was a fantastic evenings entertainment and another tick in the box. PS.. 1 winner & 3 places but the night was the winner