The Shanghai Race Club for horses was the first established in 1850. Based at the Shanghai Racecourse, the Race Committee originally came from the International Recreation Club which had organised its first race meeting just 2 years earlier. In 1850, the founding directors bought a permanent lease over land in Honan Rd and Nanking Rd, and built the first track, The Old Park.
thatsmag
In 1854 Old Park was sold, and the New Park racecourse moved west and was enlarged. The influx of refugees fleeing the Taiping Revolution (1850–64) caused a sharp rise in central Shanghai property prices. In 1862, the Race Club could buy even larger grounds in central Shanghai.
These final grounds became People's Park, still in the shape of the original track. In the 1860s the best trophy was the Champions Stakes, a race for all winners in the meeting.
At first, membership of the Race Club was restricted to foreign, non-Chinese resident adults; in any case Shanghai was prospering from the influx of migrants in the early C20th. A membership committee voted on each application; unanimous approval was required for applicants to succeed. Only in 1908 were select Chinese nationals permitted to join as honorary, associate or social members. By 1908 the Race Club had 320 full members and 500 other members.
Until 1919, the Grand Festivals of Shanghai consisted of 2 yearly meetings, each lasting 4 days: Spring race days (April-May) and Autumn race days (Oct-Nov). Post-WW1, occasional race days were added.
Before 1909, betting had been popular at Shanghai Race course, where bookmakers set up stalls at the course. After 1909, raffle tickets were sold across China, and quickly outstripped betting on horses as the Race Club’s primary revenue source. This game did not require any racing knowledge, so the raffles were very accessible to, and popular with Chinese residents. But anti-gambling social commentators hated them.
In 1931 banker/businessman Sir Victor Sassoon decided to move his operations to Shanghai. Once there, Sassoon bought up land and built huge Art Deco structures that became landmarks. Sassoon had already owned successful horse stables in Britain and India. And as owning winning horses was a great way for the socially ambitious to succeed in Shanghai society, Sassoon quickly bought great ponies and the finest seats at race meetings.
Sir Victor Sassoon with his winning jockeyShanghai Race Club
The main clubhouse building, with the 10-storey bell tower, was finished in 1933. The construction project was 4-storey, remaking the interior but preserving its neo-classicist exterior. Later the Shanghai Art Museum became an elegant arts palace, with strong beams, 1930s bronzes, art. It helped visitors understand Shanghai’s historical changes.
The bell tower of the Race Club
now restored as the Shanghai Museum
The facilities were briefly used by US forces at war’s end in 1945. But due to public outcry about this relic of colonialism in Shanghai, the government stopped all race meetings. Only from 1946 did the Republican government begin negotiations with the Race Club to acquire and resume the racecourse. The Club incorporated as 3 companies registered in Hong Kong, and held various parts of the Club's facilities. But negotiations to exchange the racecourse for a larger plot of suburban land failed, due to the Chinese Civil War
After the 1949 Communist takeover of Shanghai, Recreation Fund Trustees asked the government to hand over its properties, including the central sports ground. The Club was placed under military administration in 1951, then taken by the government. The land occupied by the Racecourse was retaken by the government, while the Club's buildings remained in its own hands. In Sept the government rebuilt the race course as People's Park and People's Square.
The Club owed large amounts of land tax and staff salary. They had to surrender all properties to the government to pay off those debts. In May 1954, the government took over all the buildings; the club house became the Shanghai Museum, and later the Shanghai Library. Other buildings were later rebuilt on the race course sites.
In 1997, Shanghai Library left and the Shanghai Art Museum arrived. The Shanghai Art Museum moved out in 2012 to become the China Art Museum in 2012 and the former club house building became the Shanghai History Museum in 2018. The changes never ended.
These final grounds became People's Park, still in the shape of the original track. In the 1860s the best trophy was the Champions Stakes, a race for all winners in the meeting.
At first, membership of the Race Club was restricted to foreign, non-Chinese resident adults; in any case Shanghai was prospering from the influx of migrants in the early C20th. A membership committee voted on each application; unanimous approval was required for applicants to succeed. Only in 1908 were select Chinese nationals permitted to join as honorary, associate or social members. By 1908 the Race Club had 320 full members and 500 other members.
Until 1919, the Grand Festivals of Shanghai consisted of 2 yearly meetings, each lasting 4 days: Spring race days (April-May) and Autumn race days (Oct-Nov). Post-WW1, occasional race days were added.
Before 1909, betting had been popular at Shanghai Race course, where bookmakers set up stalls at the course. After 1909, raffle tickets were sold across China, and quickly outstripped betting on horses as the Race Club’s primary revenue source. This game did not require any racing knowledge, so the raffles were very accessible to, and popular with Chinese residents. But anti-gambling social commentators hated them.
In 1931 banker/businessman Sir Victor Sassoon decided to move his operations to Shanghai. Once there, Sassoon bought up land and built huge Art Deco structures that became landmarks. Sassoon had already owned successful horse stables in Britain and India. And as owning winning horses was a great way for the socially ambitious to succeed in Shanghai society, Sassoon quickly bought great ponies and the finest seats at race meetings.
The main clubhouse building, with the 10-storey bell tower, was finished in 1933. The construction project was 4-storey, remaking the interior but preserving its neo-classicist exterior. Later the Shanghai Art Museum became an elegant arts palace, with strong beams, 1930s bronzes, art. It helped visitors understand Shanghai’s historical changes.
now restored as the Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Race Club was built in 1934 along the race track, the exterior having a neo-classical structure. Its imposing tower became a landmark of central Shanghai. It included a 100-m long grandstand, thought at the time to be the largest in the world. The Race Club, with its marble staircases, teak-panelled rooms, oak parquet floors and its long coffee room with a huge fireplace, ranked as a most sumptuous club. A loggia along the second floor became the members’ rooms and restaurant. The ground floor was the box office and betting hall. A mezzanine level had bowling lanes. The first floor contained club facilities, cafe, billiard rooms and reading room.
The grandstand
Shine.cn
The Club's activities were affected by the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and Chinese Civil War (1927-49). The Nov 1941 Champions Day was the last one under the direction of the British directors of the Shanghai Race Club, just three weeks before the Japanese army occupied the International Settlement. With the Pacific War in Dec 1941 Japanese forces occupied the Race Club, but racing soon continued until mid 1945!!
The facilities were briefly used by US forces at war’s end in 1945. But due to public outcry about this relic of colonialism in Shanghai, the government stopped all race meetings. Only from 1946 did the Republican government begin negotiations with the Race Club to acquire and resume the racecourse. The Club incorporated as 3 companies registered in Hong Kong, and held various parts of the Club's facilities. But negotiations to exchange the racecourse for a larger plot of suburban land failed, due to the Chinese Civil War
After the 1949 Communist takeover of Shanghai, Recreation Fund Trustees asked the government to hand over its properties, including the central sports ground. The Club was placed under military administration in 1951, then taken by the government. The land occupied by the Racecourse was retaken by the government, while the Club's buildings remained in its own hands. In Sept the government rebuilt the race course as People's Park and People's Square.
The Club owed large amounts of land tax and staff salary. They had to surrender all properties to the government to pay off those debts. In May 1954, the government took over all the buildings; the club house became the Shanghai Museum, and later the Shanghai Library. Other buildings were later rebuilt on the race course sites.
In 1997, Shanghai Library left and the Shanghai Art Museum arrived. The Shanghai Art Museum moved out in 2012 to become the China Art Museum in 2012 and the former club house building became the Shanghai History Museum in 2018. The changes never ended.
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
2 comments:
What a chequered history.
My dad was a fan of horse racing, well, gambling really. Always trying for that "big win" that would set us up for life. I guess that's where I got my "lotto" habit, though I make sure groceries and cat food are purchased first and if there isn't enough money for a ticket too bad, I don't get one.
I should read the rest of the post.
Post a Comment