Last week we were invited to attend the horse races at Happy Valley Race Course in Hong Kong. Horse racing is big in Hong Kong, and it is big for everyone. While there are two places you can go to watch the races live, Happy Valley (on Hong Kong Island) and Sha Tin (just below where we live out in the New Territories), you can find a place to bet on the races in just about every neighborhood. The Hong Kong Jockey Club manages and runs the races in Hong Kong and it is big, big business, but it is also more than that. While it is true to say that it is sad to see the people desperately hoping that they will improve their chances, the betting on the horse racing does have its upside. The Jockey Club is the largest taxpayer in the SAR and also is the biggest charity as it devotes its entire surplus each year to reinvestment in Hong Kong; in other words they make no profit. There are schools, hospitals, a care home for dementia patients called the Centre for Positive Aging, heritage projects, environmental initiatives, scholarships, healthy living projects, programs to get young people into employment, etc. etc. that are funded through the horse racing.
Our invitation involved engaging with the races through a box, rather than in the stands. This meant we were able to eat a lovely, buffet dinner with wine and a gin and tonic before hand—the G&T was particularly important as Happy Valley is situated in an area where there were rice paddies and malaria, thus the quinine in tonic water was needed in case any of the mosquitos from the 1800’s were still around (NB: occasionally there are notices in the late summer about finding malarial mosquitos out where we live, but largely malaria is no longer a problem in Hong Kong). On the buffet were a range of wonderful European (including Foie Gras) and Chinese foods in three courses. Dinner started at about 7:00pm and we finished at about 11:00 after the last race. There were 6 races in the night. The procedure is to get some food, contemplate your bets, go to the special window for the boxes to place your bet, eat a bit more, go outside to watch the race, shout for your horse(s), calculate your winnings (losings) and do it all over again.
There are a number of ways you can bet. You can bet on a horse to win, or to place in the top three. You can bet on something called a quenelle, which is the top two horses, or a quenelle place (two horses in the top 3), among other options. These were the options that I was able to get my head around. I started by betting for two horses in a quenelle place and won—I bet $40HK and won $52. I then tried the same approach again and lost $50HK. I tried betting on a place and also lost in the next race. Then I worked out that if I spread my bets across 4 or 5 horses to place I would be more likely to win something, which is what happened and with this strategy I came out a bit ahead. I also found that my strategy of selecting horses with names that meant something was not always a winning approach; Private Road was one of my winners in the first race, but garden hedge lost in the 3rd. Our friend Janet picked horses with names that had something to do with her children’s occupations. Again this was a mixed strategy as those with names to do with finance lost (this probably could have been predicted), but those with military inspired names tended to win. I also found that selecting the favorite was quite likely to be a strategy for failure as the favorite horse in the second race came last. What I eventually settled on was picking horses who had won before. This seemed to work pretty well. All in all, at the end of the night I was just $4HK down (about 40 pence or 60 cents). I also learned that it isn’t so much how much I win, but the winning itself that mattered. Mostly though, it was a lovely evening, full of interesting conversation and good food. I would definitely go to the races again if asked!
Our invitation involved engaging with the races through a box, rather than in the stands. This meant we were able to eat a lovely, buffet dinner with wine and a gin and tonic before hand—the G&T was particularly important as Happy Valley is situated in an area where there were rice paddies and malaria, thus the quinine in tonic water was needed in case any of the mosquitos from the 1800’s were still around (NB: occasionally there are notices in the late summer about finding malarial mosquitos out where we live, but largely malaria is no longer a problem in Hong Kong). On the buffet were a range of wonderful European (including Foie Gras) and Chinese foods in three courses. Dinner started at about 7:00pm and we finished at about 11:00 after the last race. There were 6 races in the night. The procedure is to get some food, contemplate your bets, go to the special window for the boxes to place your bet, eat a bit more, go outside to watch the race, shout for your horse(s), calculate your winnings (losings) and do it all over again.
There are a number of ways you can bet. You can bet on a horse to win, or to place in the top three. You can bet on something called a quenelle, which is the top two horses, or a quenelle place (two horses in the top 3), among other options. These were the options that I was able to get my head around. I started by betting for two horses in a quenelle place and won—I bet $40HK and won $52. I then tried the same approach again and lost $50HK. I tried betting on a place and also lost in the next race. Then I worked out that if I spread my bets across 4 or 5 horses to place I would be more likely to win something, which is what happened and with this strategy I came out a bit ahead. I also found that my strategy of selecting horses with names that meant something was not always a winning approach; Private Road was one of my winners in the first race, but garden hedge lost in the 3rd. Our friend Janet picked horses with names that had something to do with her children’s occupations. Again this was a mixed strategy as those with names to do with finance lost (this probably could have been predicted), but those with military inspired names tended to win. I also found that selecting the favorite was quite likely to be a strategy for failure as the favorite horse in the second race came last. What I eventually settled on was picking horses who had won before. This seemed to work pretty well. All in all, at the end of the night I was just $4HK down (about 40 pence or 60 cents). I also learned that it isn’t so much how much I win, but the winning itself that mattered. Mostly though, it was a lovely evening, full of interesting conversation and good food. I would definitely go to the races again if asked!
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