Hanoi Racecourse

The Hanoi Racecourse provides Vietnam's capital city with a thoroughbred flat racing programme that complements the flagship Phu Tho operation in Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi's racing history is less continuous than that of the southern capital — the French colonial administration developed horse racing infrastructure across Indochina, but Hanoi's racing development was more interrupted by the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the subsequent decades of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Socialist Republic of Vietnam governments, both of which had stronger prohibitive policies toward gambling-associated activities in the northern capital. The Hanoi Racecourse's contemporary operation represents the northern component of Vietnam's racing legalization programme, and the track has been developed under the VRA's oversight to provide racing opportunities for the capital's horse ownership community and the growing number of Vietnamese citizens interested in participating in licensed pari-mutuel wagering. Hanoi's horse ownership community draws significantly from the capital's business and diplomatic communities — the relatively small number of licensed horse owners in Hanoi reflects the early stage of the market's development. The track operates a regular weekend programme during the cooler dry season (October-April) when Hanoi's climate is most suitable for racing, with a reduced programme during the hot and humid summer months.