Happy Valley Racecourse in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong | Family Entertainment Centre

Happy Valley Racecourse - The city's chief recreational passion â?? horseracing â?? lies in a floodlit oasis of green in the heart of Hong Kong Island. The "Sport of Kings," the only legal form of gambling in Hong Kong, is embraced with unbridled fervor. One racing season, from September to June, can pull in more than HK$91 billion. While there's a second racecourse in Shatin for weekend meets, nothing beats the adrenaline-charged atmosphere of Happy Valley. With its tight tracks and high stands, it resembles a Roman amphitheater. As the travel writer Jan Morris once wrote, "Happy Valley on race day is a bitter, brilliant, grasping place."
The tote on a single night at Happy Valley Racecourse is often equivalent to an entire year's betting at racetracks in the West, and indeed, on race days, it seems that everyone in Hong Kong is participating. Gambling on the horses is Pastime Number One here (and it's taken very seriously), with thousands of spectators flocking weekly to the impressive track, a green expanse with an electric atmosphere surrounded by high-rises: Residents host lovely parties on their balconies while looking down on the action offered at Happy Valley Racecourse.