Kenneth Kwok's riding career spanned 30 years. He was champion jockey 13 times and broke six course records. He was officially an amateur (racing did not turn professional until 1971), though he rode so regularly he almost certainly regarded it as his main job. As an amateur too, he could own horses. Yet he also made his living as an actor, insurance agent and building contractor.

Kenneth Kwok was born in Japan, in Kobe where his Cantonese father owned a restaurant. His mother was Japanese. He first came to Hong Kong in 1937 and rode a winner in his very first race in Macau. He began riding in Hong Kong in 1941. He was the first of Hong Kong's long line of "celebrity" jockeys, a trend that still continues in Hong Kong, where jockeys are as famous as film stars.