As with most prestigious members-only clubs, admission to the Hong Kong Jockey Club is highly coveted.
With exclusive clubhouse facilities throughout Hong Kong and in Beijing, the club is an obvious magnet for bankers, socialites, lawyers, doctors and the business elite, meaning long waiting lists are inevitable.
The club's roughly 200 voting members, who tend to be major movers and shakers around town, technically control who gets in because all application forms are distributed through them.
Every year, each voting member has only two full member and five racing member application forms available to give out. High demand, especially for full memberships that offer unrestricted access to all club facilities, means voting members are constantly inundated with requests for those application forms.
But with only about 400 up for grabs each year, full-member application forms are almost never available on request and applicants usually have to queue for several years to get one.
Racing member application forms are generally readily available but are less desirable, because they offer limited benefits. Racing members, for instance, are not allowed to use the Happy Valley clubhouse in Shan Kwong Road. There is also no secondary market for these club memberships because they cannot be transferred, meaning access to voting members is key to becoming a member.
