The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (29 December) celebrated four decades of horse racing at Sha Tin Racecourse and its strong bonds with the local community by staging the Sha Tin Racecourse 40th Anniversary Raceday. In addition to the feature race, the Sha Tin Racecourse 40th Anniversary Cup, there was a spectacular opening ceremony and a range of on-course entertainment.

After an exuberant lion dance performance involving 40 lions got the opening ceremony off to a roaring start, racegoers were able to enjoy watching a special 40th Anniversary video. Later, 2018 Asian Games medallists Juanita Mok Uen-ying and Grace Lau Mo-sheung captivated the audience with a thrilling martial arts demonstration. Both athletes train at the adjacent Hong Kong Sports Institute whose development the Club has funded over the years, as well as sponsoring a number of its programmes.

A lion dance performance involving 40 lions gets the opening ceremony off to a roaring start.

All visitors received a Special Edition 40th Anniversary Photo Frame as a souvenir on entering the racecourse. Furthermore, racing fans born in 1978 were able to collect a HK$40 discount coupon for the “Gift at Races” merchandise store. Other highlights of the day included on-course digital photo booths offering visitors the opportunity to take pictures and relive some of the signature moments of the racecourse. Various dishes originating in Sha Tin were also on offer at HK$40, evoking memories of the 40-year-old landmark for many.

2018 Asian Games medallists Juanita Mok Uen-ying (Photo 6), who won silver in the women’s Wushu all-round Taijiquan and Taijijian event, and Grace Lau Mo-sheung (Photo 7), who won bronze in the women’s Karatedo kata, give a martial arts demonstration at the Sha Tin Racecourse 40th Anniversary Raceday celebration.

Opened in 1978, Sha Tin Racecourse was built on a 100-hectare reclamation site co-funded by the Club and the Government, which involved moving some 16 million tonnes of earth.  The reclamation also provided land for many of the early housing estates built at Sha Tin as it began its development from a small farming community into today’s New Town that is home to over 600,000 people.  The Club has continued to grow and develop with the local community throughout those four decades, while establishing Sha Tin Racecourse as a centre of world-class horse racing – which in turn brings international sporting recognition to Hong Kong and helps the Club generate billions of dollars in tax contributions and charitable donations each year.

The Sha Tin Racecourse 40th Anniversary Cup was won by Peter Ho-trained I am Power, ridden by Dylan Mo.

Racegoers at the Digital Photo Booths, eager to share a photo or two with family and friends.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2017/18, the Club made a record return to the Government of HK$22.6 billion in duty and profits tax and contributed HK$1.2 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity donations were HK$4.2 billion. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world’s top ten charity donors. The Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.