Asia

Hong Kong

Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong at night

The British tradition of horse racing left its mark as one of the most important entertainment and gambling institutions in Hong Kong. Established as the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club in 1884, the non-profit organisation conducts nearly 700 races every season at the two race tracks in Happy Valley and Sha Tin. The sport annually draws millions of dollars of tax revenue. Off-track betting is available from overseas bookmakers.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, horse racing was introduced during the British colonial era and remained until today as gaming activities. There are three race courses in Malaysia, namely Penang Turf Club[1], Perak Turf Club and Selangor Turf Club [2]. Horse racing is a legal form of gambling within the Turf Club and betting is only available in the turf club. Racing in Malaysia and Singapore is conducted and governed under the Rules of the Malayan Racing Association[3]. Horse racing gambling in Malaysia is operated and organized by Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd[4]

Singapore

Horse racing was introduced to Singapore by the British during the colonial era and remained one of the legal forms of gambling after independence. It remains a highly popular form of entertainment with the local Singaporean community till this date. Races are typically held on Friday evenings and Sundays at the Singapore Turf Club in Kranji. Horse racing has also left its mark in the naming of roads in Singapore such as Race Course Road in Little India where horse racing was first held in Singapore and Turf Club Road in Bukit Timah where Singapore Turf Club used to be before moving to its current location in 1999.

India

In India, four Turf Authorities conduct horse racing. The Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai conducts horse racing from November to April.

Japan

Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Japan

Japan conducts more than 21,000 horse races a year in one of three types: flat racing, jump racing (races over hurdles), and Ban'ei Racing (also called Draft Racing).
There are a total of thirty racetracks in Japan. Ten of these tracks are known as "central tracks", where most of Japan's top races are conducted. Races at these ten tracks are conducted by the Japan Racing Association (JRA), which operates under the oversight of the Japanese government. The remaining twenty tracks are operated by municipal racing authorities and run under the affiliation of the National Association of Racing (NAR). Two tracks, Sapporo Racecourse and Chukyo Racecourse, run separate meetings under either JRA or NAR jurisdiction.
The JRA purse structure is one of the richest in the world. As of 2010, a typical JRA maiden race for three year olds carries a purse of ¥9.55 million (about US$112,000), with ¥5 million (about US$59,000) paid to the winner. Purses for graded stakes races begin at ¥74.6 million (about US$882,000).
Japan's top stakes races are run in the spring and autumn. The country's most prominent race is the Grade 1 Japan Cup, a 2,400 m (about 1½ mile) invitational grass race run every November at Tokyo Racecourse for a purse of ¥476 million (about US$5.6 million), currently the richest turf race in the world. Other noted stakes races include the February Stakes, Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Yasuda Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen, and the Tenno Sho races run in the spring and fall. The Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun, and Kikuka Sho comprise the Japanese Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.