Charities & community

An aerial shot of the Sha Tin Racecourse in 2003. The center area at the foreground immediately next to the Racecourse is the Hong Kong Sports Institute, which was built in 1982 with a donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club (Charities) Ltd., the predecessor of the The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The Institute was formerly named the Jubilee Sports Centre before a name change in 1991. The Adventure Ship Limited is a charitable organization providing sea–faring adventures for the young people, including the disabled, in Hong Kong. In this photo, 40 young people from St. James’ Settlement were setting off for their two-day sea voyage aboard the Adventure Ship named the Huan. In 2001, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated $24 million for a new vessel called the Jockey Club Huan and it included special features to facilitate the disabled, especially the wheelchair-bound. The new Jockey Club Huan has been put in service since the autumn of 2004. The Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr. Li Fook Wo, presented a cheque to Mr. D. Akers-Jones, Chairman of the Summer Youth Programme Policy Committee. Under the theme of “Health, Help, Happiness”, more than 10,000 activities were organized to cultivate the positive attitudes of the youth, including leadership training, camping, community services, carnivals, music and sports activities. The Club donated $5 million to sponsor the Programme for about one million participants. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club had funded the construction of seven more public swimming pools in the 1960s and 1970s. They were located in high-density residential areas, such as Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan, Wan Chai, and Kennedy Town. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club had funded the construction of seven more public swimming pools in the 1960s and 1970s. They were located in high-density residential areas, such as Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan, Wan Chai, and Kennedy Town.

The Shaukeiwan Jockey Club Clinic was opened in July 1964 by the then Club Chairman, Mr Donovan Benson. Until, 1984, the Jockey Club funded to set up thirteen clinics and polyclinics throughout the territory. The Jockey Club Tak Wah Park in Tsuen Wan was opened on 28 October 1989 by Club Steward, Mr Chau Cham-son, OBE, JP. The Park was built with a donation from the Club amounting to HK$8 million. The Park is designed to be a traditional Chinese garden featuring a Chinese herb garden, a lake, footbridges, a water fountain, rockeries, and a pavilion on 0.65 hectares of recreational ground. The Jockey Club Tak Wah Park in Tsuen Wan was opened on 28 October 1989 by Club Steward, Mr Chau Cham-son, OBE, JP. The Park was built with a donation from the Club amounting to HK$8 million. The Park is designed to be a traditional Chinese garden featuring a Chinese herb garden, a lake, footbridges, a water fountain, rockeries, and a pavilion on 0.65 hectares of recreational ground. The Arch Gate is located at the Park’s entrance. The Penfold Park is situated in the infield of the Sha Tin Racecourse with a gross of area about 20 acres. The Park was initially opened as the Infield Park in May 1979 and changed its name to Penfold Park in late 1979 to commemorate the retirement of the Club’s then general manager, General Bernard Penfold. The Moon Gate is situated next to the artificial lake in the middle of the Park. The Penfold Park is situated in the infield of the Sha Tin Racecourse with a gross of area about 20 acres. The Park was initially opened as the Infield Park in May 1979 and changed its name to Penfold Park in late 1979 to commemorate the retirement of the Club’s then general manager, General Bernard Penfold.

The Jockey Club donated HK$5 million to construct a swimming pool at Tuen Mun for its residents in 1985. On 16 May 1985, the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club Yan Oi Tong Swimming Pool was opened by the Club’s Deputy Chairman, The Hon. Lo Fook-wo. The swimming pool occupied an area of about 6,000 square metres, and featured a saddle-like leisure pool, children's pool and splashing lagoon with water slides. This is the Jockey Club Government Secondary Technical School, located at Oxford Road, Kowloon Tong. In 1961, the Club donated a funding of HK$1.77 million to build this technical school. The school was first named after The Jockey Club Modern School, and officially opened by the then Governor Sir Robert Black in February 1962. The school was renamed The Jockey Club Government Secondary Technical School one year after its opening and then to The Jockey Club Government Secondary School in 1997. The Jubilee Sports Centre, renamed The Hong Kong Sports Institute in 1991, is built on 41 acres of reclaimed land along the riverside and stood next to the Sha Tin Racecourse. The Jubilee Sports Centre was opened by his Royal Highness of the Duke of Kent on 31 October 1982, with funding from the Queen's Silver Jubilee Fund, the Hong Kong Government and the Jockey Club. The Sports Centre aimed to provide expert coaching in sports, and facilities for practice, with a view to raising standards and stimulating increased participation in sport and recreation generally. In response to the growing popularity of horse riding among the general public, the Jockey Club donated $22 million in 1991 to build the second public riding school at the Lei Yue Mun Park, Hong Kong Island. The Lei Yue Mun Pubic Riding School was opened on 21 November 1992 by the then Club Chairman, The Hon. William Purves, and the Chairman of the then Urban Council, Dr Ronald Leung Ding-bong. Opened in 1978, the Pokfulam Public Riding School has long provided leisure riding and equestrian training to the general public and the disabled. In the early 1980s, a one-hour riding lesson offered at public riding school cost about HK$60 for pony rides and HK$70 for horse riding; class size was limited to 8 students.