It's a way of life. Nothing illustrates Clark's assertion better than a visit to the Happy Valley Racecourse, which is wedged amongst a field of skyscrapers, in the heart of Hong Kong. They're not there just to watch the ponies run around in circles. It's entertainment and it's sport. But even more it's like an art.
Chinese people love to study the forms, to handicap the races.
It's really our national sport. Proceeds from horse racing helped build the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Castle Peak Hospital and the Hong Kong Park. Given this nationwide equine fervor, casino gambling is hardly necessary, according to Chan. The government doesn't want to encourage additional gambling in Hong Kong. There is a Jockey Club there as well as a greyhound racing facility, lyrically dubbed the Canidrome.