A fun day out was had by all at Sha Tin Racecourse today, Saturday 26 August, when more than 14,600 attendees, including racehorse owners and the general public, enjoyed a variety of educational and racing-related activities at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Pre-season Carnival.
The annual event, held a week ahead of the Hong Kong racing season’s opening fixture – this year scheduled for Sunday, 3 September – as usual provided a welcoming, family-friendly environment packed with fun attractions.
The headline attractions at the annual carnival this year included grand performances from Yao Jue Music Academy and the Hong Kong String Orchestra, a toy upcycling workshop offered by YMCA of Hong Kong, unicycling performances by UAHK, and a display, exhibition and mini-game booth with freebies from TINY. Pre-season Carnival favourites, the Shetland Ponies, were on hand for grooming and many youngsters made the most of one of the day’s most popular activities – pony rides. In addition, the “Share Your Best Moment!” photo competition proved to be very popular among participants.
The day’s outright highlight was once again the annual Jockeys’ Sprint, with Hong Kong’s star riders pairing off for a 100m relay contest. The Club’s Executive Director, Racing Authority Mr. Andrew Harding took on the role of starter and got the race off to a clean break. Having shown fleetness of foot and seamless teamwork, the winning team of Karis Teetan and Kei Chiong claimed the unofficial “first race” of the season. The Club’s Executive Director, Racing Business and Operations Mr. Anthony Kelly, presented a HK$5,000 cheque, the winning trophy and medals to Karis Teetan and Kei Chiong after the competition. Umberto Rispoli and racing trainee Kenny Lau in second place, and Neil Callan and Dylan Mo, and Chad Schofield and Vincent Ho in joint-third, were also presented with medals and cheques of HK$3,000 and HK$2,000, respectively.
