The pandemic years have been rich with surreal imagery. Vacant office space where once there was none, silent schools once brimming with students, public transport with few passengers, empty or closed stadiums, theatres and other entertainment venues, a population that kept its distance and remains masked to this day. The list goes on, but the second day of the Year of the Rabbit recalled an image that no one ever imagined they would see in the turf capital of Hong Kong – horse racing held behind closed doors without trackside punters as an anti-infection measure.
The punters have been back for a while, but [last] Tuesday’s Lunar New Year meeting at Sha Tin underlined how surreal their previous absence was. Nearly 80,000 people clicked the turnstiles at Sha Tin, plus more than 5,000 at the Happy Valley video meeting – the biggest turnout since the 2019, pre-pandemic Lunar New Year meeting.
More telling about how the Lunar New Year ignited the enthusiasm with which Hongkongers embraced the return to normality is that the Jockey Club reports a betting turnover of HK$2.06 billion (US$265 million), the biggest since… more on the Return of Horse Racing Fans on One of Hong Kong’s Biggest Days
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