Tens of thousands of racing fans packed into Sha Tin on Sunday for the climax of the Longines Hong Kong International Races week, hoping to see stars like Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising add to their storied reputations.
Visitors from South Africa, Japan, Australia and mainland China mixed with celebrities such as Chinese actor Yu Shi and local dignitaries, all ready to witness big performances on and off the racecourse.
Many were sporting the special edition baseball caps that were handed out to the first to arrive when the gates opened around 11am.
And the anticipation was taken up a notch by K-pop star Jung Ji-hoon, who performs under the stage name Rain. His 20-minute appearance, during which he performed songs such as “La Song” and “Rainism”, had the parade ring area filled to overflowing with fans.
Serjio Hot, a RedNote blogger from Guangzhou, was among those who made the trip from across the border “just for my favourite celebrity”, but planned to stay on to watch some of the racing and maybe place a bet or two.
“I haven’t set a limit for myself. I might start with one or two thousand, and if I get carried away, maybe more,” he said, adding that he plans to come every year from now on. “The live atmosphere is amazing. It’s like being at a concert.”
