Macau Antigo: Do The Macau Greyhound Racing Club ao Yat Yuen Canidrome

"Em 1932, um grupo de chineses e americanos organizam em Macau a «Associação de Corridas de Cães de Macau» e fazem construir um canídromo. A inauguração do espaço foi um acontecimento importante, a que não faltou o concurso de uma orquestra feminina, composta de 22 raparigas americanas, com vistoso uniforme. Mas o preço das entradas, muito elevado para o nível médio de vida, não permitiu a manutenção do espectáculo que acabou em 1936. Em substituição das corridas de cães, o espaço do canídromo foi transformado em parque de diversões (ópera, acrobacia, jogo) assim se mantendo até cerca de 1940. Em 1940, o Governo de Macau transforma o espaço do canídromo no Campo Desportivo 28 de Maio".

Beatriz Basto da Silva in Cronologia da História de Macau, Volume 4, 1997.

"In 1932, greyhound racing was first introduced to Macao by Fan Che Pang (范潔朋) and a group of overseas Chinese and Americans, who later formed the “Macao Canine Club” and built a greyhound racing stadium, which is now the “Yat Yuen Canidrome”. However, this newly introduced game was not truly popular at that time. The business stopped operating several years after until it was reopened in September 1963"

Década 1940

Década 1960

Década 1990

The Yat Yuen Canidrome hosts the only greyhound races in Asia. It all begun in 1931, inspired by the success of greyhound racing in Shanghai, where a large canidrome had been built in 1928 that quickly became a popular entertainment venue. Fan Che Pang, a Macau businessman, was the first owner until 1938, when it closed beacause of the war between China and Japan. In 1963, new owners gave the stadium a facelift and it reopened. The defunct greyhound track in Shanghai provided much of the staff and equipment for the refit of the stadium in Macau. An old Ford engine used to propel the "rabbit" was also from Shanghai's 1920s track.

In 1998, the owners invested HK$30 million to upgrade the track's facilities and betting services, but nothing much has happened since. Fading posters on old corkboards and water-stained walls evoke a feeling of stepping back in time. Greyhound betting revenue pales in comparison to casino income in Macau, racing track closes down in July 2018.

Texto do jornal South China Morning Post a 1.9.2013