Source: CCTV.com

06-27-2007 10:59

Special Report:   HK 10 Years

It is September 2006 and jockeys from various countries have gathered at Shatin Racecourse in the New Territories for intense preparations for a major horseracing event.

Horseracing in its more or less current form began more than 150 years ago. Today superbly graceful horses of the finest breeding, jockeys whose equestrian skills have reached the highest level gather for the well-dressed club members, horse owners, and Hong Kong horseracing fans alike who have all gathered in excited anticipation to place their bets and witness a magnificent spectacle. People from all levels of society come to the racecourse for the same purpose: to bet on the horses and feel the excitement of the racecourse.

The bulk of those betting on the races are local residents who tend to be dressed more casually than the more affluent horseracing fans, and their expressions reveal intense concentration and some anxiety. Betting on the horses has become an indispensable part of the lives of large numbers of Hong Kong residents, and when they are too busy to attend to the racecourse in person they can always keep their eye on the track through special racetrack telecasts. The Jockey Club provides the Hong Kong government with 8 to 12 billion Hong Kong dollars a year, around 10 percent of its local revenue, and it contributes one billion Hong Kong dollars to social welfare undertakings every year as well.

Shatin Racecourse has a capacity of 85,000 seats, and it is always packed. Whenever a race begins information is displayed on a screen the size of a Boeing 747, the world's largest electronic screen, attracting the attention of tens of thousands of those present.

The racecourse is flooded in strong lighting so that even late at night it is as bright as daytime.