A raft of developments at Sha Tin Racecourse will be geared towards creating a more immersive experience for young racegoers and ensuring the facility is suitably equipped should talk of allowing under 18s into Hong Kong races come to fruition.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said recently authorities had been in discussions with the Hong Kong Jockey Club about loosening age restrictions as part of a wider plan to boost the city’s attractiveness as a horse racing tourist site.
And in an interview with the Post, the club’s CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said his organisation was “grateful that the government endorsed this and made this part of its policy address”. He would not, however, be drawn on just when age limits could be lowered.
“[You only have to] look at the whole excitement which has been created by the news that Hong Kong racing will be part of an official tourism offer,” he said.
While a significant part of the club’s current HK$7.5 billion racecourse master plan has centred around a new arrival experience for owners and members, there are significant works in the pipeline focused on better catering to tourists, particularly Generation Z and families.
“We wanted to create a completely new arrival and new experience for tourists, because what we have currently is not what we think will be a holistic tourist experience,” said Engelbrecht-Bresges, who previously told the Post he believed the number of tourists travelling from the mainland to watch Hong Kong racing would double in the next five years.
“We have a lot of new people come to Hong Kong [that] were not familiar with racing,” he added. “So what kind of experience do you have to create for them?”
New restaurants targeted at young people, what the club calls “Instagrammable locations”, and even a digital version of great racehorse Golden Sixty that greets guests are all part of the plan to liven up Sha Tin in time for the 2025-26 racing season.
These improvements will compliment the new digital offerings unveiled at Happy Valley this season, with things such as a digital parade ring and AI-generated race cards at the forefront of that experience.
As for families with children, Engelbrecht-Bresges said the club was investing in a “Pony World” in the Sha Tin infield.
Planned for completion by December next year, the facility would offer prospective racing fans the opportunity to ride ponies, have their photo taken and attend lecturers to further their understanding of the sport and the animals.
“Our most attractive offering we see when we do carnivals or in the public riding schools is taking photos with ponies,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “So this is a value proposition which obviously works, and for pony rides you always have a long queue. So this will be part of this entertainment experience for the public and especially with families.
“There is no betting. We will create a completely new zone. It’s completely different from the normal racecourse experience. But we feel with this strategy, we want to create an experience for tourists which will be unique.
“When you look at Hong Kong racing, we want to promote the sport and sports entertainment. This is our key value proposition and this is for all segments.”
