Sha Tin Racecourse

Sha Tin Racecourse (zh-t|t=沙田馬場) is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Penfold Park is encircled by the track.

History

It was first 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 Hong Kong.

The course has 474 races per season including:

* Sha Tin Racecourse Silver Jubilee Cup
* Sha Tin Sprint Trophy

Grand opening

On September 9, 2007, Sha Tin race track opened with record 1-day crowd of about 60,000. Chief Secretary Henry Tang stroke the ceremonial gong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club collected US$106 million in bets (highest since 2001). Children of horse owners were admitted amid protest of local anti-gambling groups. "Sunny Power", booted by Howard Cheng got the trophy in the 1,200 metre dash. [ [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/298977/1/.html ChannelNewsAsia.com, HK's Sha Tin race course opens to huge crowds] ]

Features

Originally built with capacity for 35,000 and one grandstand, it now has capacity for 85,000 and two grandstands. It also has 23 stables for a capacity of 1,260 horses.

Other features include:

* Equine Hospital
* Racing Laboratory
* Equine Swimming Pool
* Riverside Gallop

Track Specifications:

TurfStraight: 430 metres

Circumference: 1899 metres

All Weather TrackStraight: 380 metres

Circumference: 1560 metres

ee also

* Hong Kong Jockey Club
* Happy Valley Racecourse
* Brian Taylor
* Willy Kan

External links

* [http://www.hkjc.com/english/come_racing/shatin_index.asp Details on Hong Kong Jockey Club website]
* [http://www.hongkongjockeyclub.com/English/special/2003_st_sjc/strc_index.asp Shatin Racecourse]

References