Horse Racing at Macau Jockey Club
Winning Big on the Ponies
I’ve been to the races in Hong Kong and North America, but last weekend’s trip was my first in Macau. My South African mate is a jockey here and he secured a VIP table for a group of us for last Friday’s races. We had dinner and beers overlooking the horse inspection circle on the finishing line. After a lesson from the staff, we learned to navigate the betting book and started laying down the green. Lady Luck was on my side, having won all of my bets save one. I tripled my money on “place” and “quinella place” bets. I even won on the dog race putting my cash behind Super Seattle who stormed his fluffy self to first place…”Catch the bunny….Catch the bunny.”
Horse racing in the region is notorious for being, well, lucrative for those in the know. Hong Kong officials recently dug up an elaborate dart gun system buried beneath the start gate in Happy Valley’s race track. Macau is purported to have some dodgy practices as well, so keep the big bucks in your pocket unless you happen to know something that the rest of us wished we did. Nonetheless, a trip to the ponies is a great way to spend the evening or afternoon. Minimum bets are 10 HKD (they don’t accept patacas…go figure), so even novice bettors/budget travelers can get in on the action. Check out the Macau Jockey Club if you’re here for a Friday or Saturday. Friday’s evening races end just in time to hit the town. Saturday’s races are in the afternoon.
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