Penfold Park () is a public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

managed by the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. It is named after Major-General Bernard Penfold, the first general manager of the Jockey Club who was in office from 1972 to 1979. The park is located in the centre (within the track) of the

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hon ...

with a gross area of over 20 acres. It features green areas, as well as pools used by various waterbirds. People around the area often go there to have a walk. There are many painted horse statues and artworks. It is closed during horse racing days and Mondays.

History

The park was briefly called Infield Park at opening on 11 May 1979. The chairman of the Jockey Club Board of Stewards, during the Stewards' annual general meeting on 17 September that year, announced that the park would be named in honour of Major-General Bernard Penfold. The chairman explained that the Stewards "considered the beautifying of the in-field with shrubs and trees to be a characteristic example of General Penfold's many achievements". General Penfold, the manager of the Jockey Club who presided over construction of the park, was slated to retire the following year after seven seasons as general manager. During the years after

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

, there were a few slight bouts of

bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...

, and the man-made lakes had been closed a few times to reduce the chance of visitors contracting the diseases. The Hong Kong Jockey Club had announced that Penfold Park would be closed from the end of July 2007 to April 2008 for the construction of training facilities for the 2008 Olympic equestrian events. On 17 January 2009, the park was reopened for the public.

Features

HK PenfoldPark LakeEntrance.JPG, Lake entrance Penfold Park Olympic Cauldron 2010.jpg, Olympic cauldron Penfold Park Children Playground 2010.jpg, Children Playground

Opening hours

On 22 September 2015, The Hong Kong Jockey Club announced that Penfold Park would be open year-round and with extended opening hours.Penfold Park opens year-round with extended hours Bringing more joyful moments to people and pets alike
HKJC CORPORATE NEWS, 22 September 2015

Transportation

* –

Fo Tan station Fo Tan () is a station on the of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It is located in the Fo Tan area of Sha Tin District, between and stations on the East Rail line's main branch. The is located parallel to Fo Tan, on the ...

or Racecourse station

References

External links

"Review of Egretries in Hong Kong", in ''Hong Kong Biodiversity'', Issue No. 14 March 2007, pp. 1-6.
{{Zoos of Hong Kong Urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong Sha Tin District