I grew up around horses and have always loved them, but as a kid I didn’t particularly like caring for them. Having to clean out their stalls, feed, hay and water them wasn’t exactly what I called fun. But as an adult I have learned with all that work comes a great trade off, the joy of saddling up and spending the afternoon riding.
Living in this concrete jungle, I don’t get many
opportunities to enjoy an afternoon with horses, much less riding. Last summer I came very close to riding down one
of the hillsides on the Kowloon side and along the oceanfront, but after weeks
of coordinating the big day, I finally gave up. After dozens of emails with the riding club, I was finally able to
prove to the club that I could handle riding solo, and not have to “follow the
leader”. But after adding up the cost
associated with buying the mandatory English riding boots, riding pants, and a helmet
(all not cheap!), I kind of lost the image of myself galloping through a field
down to a sandy beach, all while wearing shorts and flip-flops! The thought of having to wear leather boots
up to my knees, nylon stretch pants and a heavy helmet all day in the hottest
place on earth… well, I finally backed out of the
“English” experience in this tropical climate.
But after yesterday, I may need to look into other “less stuffy” riding
clubs.
Yesterday I went to my first horse race in Hong Kong, and I
hope not my last. A group of my friends
and I attended the BMW Hong Kong Derby last weekend in Shatin. The BMW Hong Kong Derby is one of the most
prestigious races, the most historic- dating back
to 1873 and the most lucrative at HK$16 million dollars! The BMW Hong Kong Derby is the battleground
for the top four-year-old horse. Most
horses only race for 1-2 years, then retire.
Although racing can bring great earnings, the real money is made in stud
fees once the horse retires.
Horse racing is huge in Hong Kong with two race courses to support the ever popular sport. Happy Valley Race Course is on the island and races are held on week nights, and then there is the Shatin Race Course on the Kowloon side in Shatin, New Territories (very close to the China boarder), where races are held on weekends.
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| Shatin Race Coarse |
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| Happy Valley Race Coarse (on the island surrounded by city buildings) |
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| Happy Valley |
We were guests of a friend whose father and uncle owned one
of the horses, so we had VIP access to everything. The first race started around 12:30 and
one followed every thirty minutes with a total of 10 races. Once we arrived and obtained our coveted VIP
pass, we headed straight to our viewing room where we were greeted by a huge buffet and
all the wine one could drink! After
lunch, we had afternoon tea (Hong Kong style, which I love!) and afternoon tea
snacks. The day basically unfolded like
this… eat for 10 minutes, go outside to watch the next batch of horses
walk around for observation, go inside to place your bet, find something else to
eat for 10 minutes, go outside to watch your horse lose, then back inside to
eat again. Repeat 10 times!
I placed bets for all but one race, and only won once. For race #6 I finally thought, with the help
of a few glasses of wine, I had the odds figured out. I placed a winning bet on every horse (10
horses total), except for the three that had the worst odds. I went outside thinking I was surely going to
win something. But, somehow one of the
bottom three horses won! I was a little
pissed. Later in the afternoon, I
finally placed a bet as the paper suggested and guess what?? I won!
I even won bills!! I say this
because one of my friend’s winnings didn’t add up to actual paper currency,
only coin. LOL
When it came time for our horse to race (kind of ours… wink, wink) we
got to go downstairs through the celebrity area and walk past the paparazzi to
the inner circle that the horses walked around prior to their race. The inner circle would fill up with celebrity
friends of the horse owners along with trainers, investors and well… us of coarse!
Check out these pictures. We had a great time and only hope we get invited again!
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| This was the race I placed my biggest bet on to win or place ... with horse #11. Thank God we had an endless supply of Haagen Dazs inside. |
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| My friends and I as we watch the horses before the race in the inner circle. |
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| Our friend's horse right before the race. |
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| The owner and jokey of our friend's horse speaking to the press in the inner circle, right before the race. |
