Macau Jockey Club

The Macau Jockey Club is not, as the name suggests, a community club for aspiring jockeys but the organisation that runs horse racing and track betting in Macau. It’s based on the Hong Kong Jockey Club across the water. Unlike the HKJC, the Macau Jockey Club does not have a monopoly on betting in the city – as you’ll quickly notice, there are a lot of casinos in Macau. The MJC was founded as recently as 1989.

When are the races in Macau

Macau only holds flat races. The season runs from September through to August – so it’s effectively a 12 month calendar. Like Hong Kong there are two race meetings each week – a night race on Fridays and a day or night meet at the weekend. Occasionally, the day of a race will change due a festival, such as Chinese New Year, or special event and exact schedules and timings can be checked on the MJC website. p>There is both a turf course and sand course at the Taipa racecourse. It’s fair to say that the turf course is not of the highest quality although steps have been taken in recent years to improve its consistency. Huge improvements have also taken place at the course itself and improved facilities have started attracting a better class of horse and better meets.

The Taipa racecourse is a professional set up and attracts a mix of a well heeled crowd, expats and more energetic regular race goers -you’ll see them screaming their chosen horse on. Set amidst the hills and greenery of Taipa Island, the racecourse boasts a 15,000 seater grandstand, although it really only fills out for headline races. There is food and cheap beer available at trackside and the atmosphere is casual. Unless you are heading for the members enclosure there is no need to dress up.

The big races are the Macau Derby in April and the Macau Gold Cup in May.

What bets can I place?

Bets at the Macau racecourse are similar to those ones used in Hong Kong.

Win – Pick 1st place in a race

Place - Pick a horse that will finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a race of 7 horses or 1st and 2nd in a race with six or less horses.

Quinella – Pick two horses to finish 1st and 2nd in either order

Tierce – Pick three horses for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order

Double – Pick two horses to finish 1st in two separate races

You will find form guides handed out at the trackside on race day and live betting information, also in English, on the TV screens around. Bets can be placed in English, and there are guides available, although few of the betting staff themselves speak English.

How to get to Macau racecourse

When races are held the Macau Jockey Club runs a number of free shuttle buses from the Hong Kong – Macau ferry terminal for free. The buses run every 10 t0 15 minutes from 45 minutes before the first race starts.