| Sha Tin Racecourse 沙田馬場 | |
| Location: | Sha Tin District, |
| Owner: | Hong Kong Jockey Club |
| Capacity: | 85,000 |
| Coursetype: | Thoroughbred |
| Website: | http://www.hkjc.com/home/english/index.asp |
| Notableraces: | Group One races: Hong Kong Derby Queen Elizabeth II Cup Champions Mile Hong Kong International Races Hong Kong Triple Crown |
Sha Tin Racecourse 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, and the Hong Kong Sports Institute is located immediately south of the property.
Michael Jackson planned to perform at the racecourse on his Dangerous World Tour, which was the start of the third leg, but was cancelled due to the conflict of the racing season.
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 Hong Kong.
The course has 474 races per season including:
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 Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.[1]
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:
Track Specifications:
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.