Sha Tin Racecourse Covered Parade Ring 2014

Sha Tin Racecourse Level 1 Public Betting Hall 2014

Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It is located in Sha Tin in the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

. It is managed by

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 ...

Penfold Park Penfold Park () is a public park managed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. 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 i ...

is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports Institute is located immediately south of the property.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

planned to perform at the racecourse on his

Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jack ...

, which was the start of the third leg, but was cancelled due to the conflict of the racing season.

History

It was built in 1978 (under the administration of Sir David Akers-Jones, the then-Secretary for the New Territories) on reclaimed land and is the larger of the two tracks in

. The course has 474 races per season including: *

Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year i ...

Hong Kong Mile The Hong Kong Mile is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December ...

Hong Kong Sprint The Hong Kong Sprint is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid De ...

Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles or 12 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

Centenary Sprint Cup The Centenary Sprint Cup is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race over a distance of 1200 metres at Sha Tin in January. It was originally known as the Centenary Cup, which was first run on 24 November 1984 to celebrate the centenary of The Hong Kong ...

Hong Kong Stewards' Cup The Stewards' Cup is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the latter part of January at Sha Tin Racecourse. A Group One race that offers a purse of HK$12,000,000, it is run on turf over a distance of 1600 meters and is open to ...

Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup The Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup is a set weights Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run over 1400 metres, with the total purse of HK$10m in 2014/15, approximately US$1.3m. In the season of 2005/06, it was upgraded to Group 1 status and h ...

Hong Kong Gold Cup The Hong Kong Gold Cup is a Group One Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1979 at Sha Tin Racecourse. It is open to horses three years of age and older. Run on turf, it was initially run over a distance of 1,800 metres, but ...

* Hong Kong Derby * Queen Elizabeth II Cup *

Champions Mile The Champions Mile is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Sha Tin Racecourse with the total purse of HK$14m in 2014/15, appro ...

Chairman's Sprint Prize The Chairman's Sprint Prize is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run over a distance of 1200 metres. Until 2000, it was run as the Hong Kong Sprint Championship to coincide with the opening of Sha Tin Racecourse. In 2016, this race ...

Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late May or early June at Sha Tin Racecourse. A Group One race that offers a purse of HK$12,000,000, it is run on turf over a distance of 2400 meters (prior t ...

On 9 September 2007, the Sha Tin track opened for the 2007 season with an opening day record of about 60,000. Chief Secretary Henry Tang struck the ceremonial gong. The

collected US$106 million in bets (the highest since 2001). Children of horse owners were admitted amid protest of local anti-gambling groups. ''Sunny Power'', booted by Howard Cheng won in the 1,200 metre dash.ChannelNewsAsia.com, HK's Sha Tin race course opens to huge crowds
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Features

Originally built with a 35,000-capacity grandstand, it now has two grandstands with a total capacity of 85,000. It also has 20 stables for a capacity of 1,260 horses. Other features include: *Equine Hospital *Racing Laboratory *Equine Swimming Pool *Riverside Gallop Track Specifications: * Turf ** Straight: ** Circumference: * All-Weather Track (Dirt) ** Straight: ** Circumference:

Major races

;

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern race system introduce ...

Hong Kong International Races Hong Kong International Races (香港國際賽事) is an event consisting of the four most prestigious horse races in Hong Kong hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The four races are: Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), Hong Kong Mile (1600m), Hong Kong Cu ...

(December) **

- 2000m **

- 1600m **

- 1200m **

- 2400m * Hong Kong Triple Crown **

- 1600m (January) **

- 2000m (February) **

- 2400m (May) *

- 1200m (January) *

- 1400m (February) * Queen Elizabeth II Cup - 2000m (April) *

- 1600m (April) *

- 1200m (April) ;

Group Two A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

* Premier Bowl - 1200m (October) *

Sha Tin Trophy The Sha Tin Trophy is a horse race for horses aged four and over, run at a distance of 1,600 metres (one mile) on turf in October at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong. The Sha Tin Trophy was first contested in 1997. It was upgraded to International ...

- 1600m (October) * Jockey Club Day (November) **

Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

- 2000m ** Jockey Club Mile - 1600m ** Jockey Club Sprint - 1200m * Chairman's Trophy - 1600m (April) * Sprint Cup - 1200m (April) ;

Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

* Celebration Cup - 1400m (October) *

National Day Cup The National Day Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred handicap horse race in Hong Kong, run at Sha Tin over 1000 metres. It takes place every year on 1 October, Hong Kong National Day. Originally run over 1400 metres, it replaced the Sha Tin Sprint Trop ...

- 1000m (October) * Ladies' Purse - 1800m (November) * Chinese Club Challenge Cup - 1400m (January) *

Bauhinia Sprint Trophy Bauhinia Sprint Trophy is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run at Sha Tin over 1000 metres in December/January. Horses rated 90 and above are qualified to enter the race. The race held Group One status until 2004 and was won twice, 20 ...

- 1000m (January) * Centenary Vase - 1600m (February) * Queen Mother Memorial Cup - 2400m (May) * Sha Tin Vase - 1200m (May) * Lion Rock Trophy - 1600m (May) * Premier Cup - 1400m (June) * Premier Plate - 1800m (June) ; Listed Race * Four-year-old Series (4YO Classic Series) **

Hong Kong Classic Mile The Hong Kong Classic Mile is a domestic Group 1 four year old set weights Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run over a distance of 1600 metres. It was originally a Group 3 race and was the traditional lead-up race for the Hong Kong Derby. In t ...

- 1600m (January) **

Hong Kong Classic Cup The Hong Kong Classic Cup is a Thoroughbred set weights horse race in Hong Kong for four year olds, run over a distance of 1800 metres. The first three finishers in this race have priority to run in the Hong Kong Derby, which is the most prestigious ...

- 1800m (February) ** Hong Kong Derby - 2000m (March; since 1979)

Transport

The racecourse is served by Racecourse station of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). The station is only used on racing days. There are also several bus routes. One of the racecourse bus routes, KMB 872, had a deadly bus crash.

References

External links

Hong Kong Jockey Club official websiteShatin Racecourse
* {{Coord, 22, 23, 58, N, 114, 12, 24, E, type:landmark, display=title 1978 establishments in Hong Kong Event venues established in 1978 Extra areas operated by NT taxis Horse racing venues in Hong Kong Landmarks in Hong Kong Sha Tin District Tourist attractions in Hong Kong