To the Horse Races

Last Wednesday I decided to go check out the horse races. In Hong Kong they do not have major professional sports, but the closest equivalent are the horse races. There are two stadiums in Hong Kong, one on the island, Happy Valley, and one just down the road from the university near Fo Tan. Happy Valley has races every Wednesday night while the Fo Tan races are on Sundays. Happy Valley was a bit of a walk from the train station but it was pretty packed. The vast majority of people there were Westerners and the announcer had a distinct British accent. My guess is that most of the people there were businessmen as a lot of people were dressed well (in suits). There were about 3 races a hour and everything was pretty relaxed. The thing that really surprised me was that all the food and drinks were priced the same as what you would find outside the race track. I guess I am just used to price gouging. I did not bet at all but one of the Europeans I was with did win a 1 to 50 odds. The race tracks are a popular place to relax and socialize, not too many people were real intense about it.