One of the 974 things that impresses me about Hong Kong is the use of space.
Depending where you read, somewhere between 60-70% of HK is national park. This is why residential areas are a lot more congested than in most countries. People live in apartment blocks with generations of family members as cost is also high due to the age old supply and demand curve.
When there are public outdoor spaces, more often than not, they are dual use. Happy Valley Racecourse being one of these areas. The inside area is used for soccer, rugby and hockey and around the outside is a very nice running track.
I was invited to the Members’ Area today. It was my first time in the upper echelons of this venue. Normally, if I happen to go on their usual Wednesday night, I’m keeping it real trackside. On some rare occasions, I’ve been to the next level up however I never seem to win anything on that level. I put this down to not being able to feel the thundering vibration in my feet as the horses run past. This is a blatant lie as I always bet on the same horse numbers and sometimes may bet on an extra one or two if the jockey is wearing yellow, has a star on them or a name that mentions “happy” or similar. It’s a high tech scheme.
I figure that any money I lose is a donation as the HK Jockey Club is the largest charity in HK. I’m just helping them out.
That said, I never bet more than I’m prepared to lose and since I don’t see where my actual donations go, it tends to be HKD20 each way per horse. It means that it’s unlikely I’ll win mega dollars and equally likely I’ll be donating mega dollars. I see it as the cost for a good time.
There are some incredibly serious gamblers there, form guides studied, tea in flasks at their side, rushing to make their bets trackside. In the Members’ Area, there are some equally serious gamblers, some with computers in front of them, spreadsheets at the ready, an occasional alcoholic beverage though usually also, tea (it’s the Westerners there that are mostly drinking alcohol), and in front of each table facing the window, there is another computer with all the relevant details.
Today is the only Sunday in the year the races are held at Happy Valley. Rumour has it that this is so those officials that are interested can make it to Melbourne in time for the Melbourne Cup on the Tuesday since they don’t hold the Wednesday night races at Happy Valley in lieu of having them today instead. Sounds plausible.
This is also part of my #hongkongbucketlist2015 as I enjoy the races. I won’t pretend to understand the finer details of a form guide but I do know enough to be able to bet.
So today was quite a special day.
I was with friends I hadn’t seen for a while as well as meeting some new friends. There’s buffet entrees and desserts and a choice of mains for lunch. Champagne followed by wine, flowed with the conversation. It was a jovial group. We watched from inside, we watched from the balcony and we even went trackside to watch the horses being paraded before the start. Having a Members’ Pass really is a bonus.
There were some hardcore punters in the group and I told them of my method at the start. They laughed at my inexperience (in a friendly way of course) and how I can actually say it with a straight face.
There was a race televised from Japan part the way through. Using my usual criteria, I bet on that one too. I won. We’re all taking that as a sign.
By the end of Race 10, one of the others had followed my bets for the final two races. He’s thanked me.
After ten races, there were two where I made donations.
They have paid me to have a good time.
It ended with a Godiva Chocolate Martini.
* Thanks to Kylie Minogue for the title to this post. She wasn’t so lucky at the Rugby Union World Cup last night (my time) and neither was I. I was a bit lucky though as I had no money on that one – it’s illegal to bet on the rugby in HK from what I’ve been told. I’m guessing we’re probably not allowed to bet on the success or otherwise of the Christmas album she’s releasing on 13 November which includes a duet with Dannii… There’s one with Iggy Pop too.