The Horse Racing Tracks of Hong Kong

Hong Kongers love gambling. So much so that in 2025, 7,300,582 Hong Kong residents visited neighbouring Macau, representing 18.2% of the total number of tourists visiting the East Asian gambling hub. To put that number into perspective, as of 2026, Hong Kong has a population of 7,518,300.

But Hong Kongers don’t have to travel to Macau to partake in their favourite pastime. Indeed, Hong Kong is home to not one, but two horse racing tracks.

The oldest and most popular racecourse, located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, has been hosting races since December 1844, when the first meet was held—less than three years after the Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island to the British. However, the track's formal opening and regular scheduling date back to 1846. Today, its seven-storey grandstand has a capacity of 55,000 spectators. It is also home to the world’s only three-storey stables, which were built on nearby Shan Kwong Road in the 1970s inside an 11-storey building, making it the world’s first high-rise stable.

On October 7, 1978, a second racecourse opened in Sha Tin, in the New Territories. Its two grandstands have a total capacity of 85,000, and its 20 stables can accommodate 1,260 horses. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, the dressage and jumping events were held on the nearby Hong Kong Sports Institute grounds and in Penfold Park.

Nowadays, races are held at the Happy Valley racecourse every Wednesday evening, and at the Sha Tin racecourse during weekends and public holidays, usually by day.