Hong Kong horse racing is a sport like no other, a twice-weekly event at which the Chinese passion for gambling is written in big-buck figures on a splendid outdoor stage. At major race meetings up to 80,000 people cram into the larger of two racetracks at Sha Tin to watch races for which prize money for first past the post can be up to US$2 million.

The world's leading jockeys actively pursue invitations to ride in Hong Kong. The racing is exciting, financially rewarding and the standard as high as anywhere in the world. In may ways, horse racing is a metaphor for Hong Kong itself, a place...