“Senior officials of the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club are investigating the possibility of holding night race meetings at Happy Valley […] another step on the professional road which will eventually lead to year-round racing,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 30, 1972.
“A leading Hongkong architect has been engaged to draw up the plans for the installation of a floodlighting system […] In the words of one senior steward of the club: ‘We have only one major worry. The state of the track.’”
The issue was addressed in a later Post column, on May 2, where “the top executive of the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club, General Bernard Penfold, yesterday disclosed ambitious plans for the club’s professional future with night racing on an all-weather dirt track at Happy Valley.
“Senior officials of the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club are investigating the possibility of holding night race meetings at Happy Valley,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 30, 1972. Photo: SCMP Archives
“Said Australian jockey Ross MacMillan: ‘This will be a great benefit to professional riders. We really need more race days and this has come at an opportune moment.’ There could be difficulties before the plan swung [sic] into operation. Government and police approval will be necessary before midweek night racing becomes a reality. However, it is an ambitious plan deserving full support.”
And on October 18, 1973, the Post reported how “Hongkong’s night racing venture got off to a rain-drenched traffic snarl, but a highly-successful [sic] start at Happy Valley last night. The six race inaugural meeting was run off before a packed crowd at floodlit Happy Valley, but the numbers inside were trebled by those in the Happy Valley area and its environs.
The first night race at the Happy Valley Racecourse, on October 17, 1973. Photo: SCMP Archives
“At least 8,000 people jammed car parks, footpaths, streets and balconies round the track to see night racing inaugurated. In Wongneichong Road [Wong Nai Chung Road], the crowd flowed on to the street helping to contribute to a traffic jam which stretched from Causeway Bay to Wanchai and over the waterfront road flyover almost to the harbour tunnel.
“The crowd which saw the races inside had very little on those outside except for certain Jockey Club facilities. Illegal bookmakers were operating freely and there seemed to be few policemen on duty outside the track.”