Horse racing in Japan

The history of equestrian sports and horse racing in Japan goes back many centuries, but it was not until the Spring of 1862 that the first horse race in a recognizably European format was organized by a group of British residents on an area of drained marshland just outside the recently opened treaty port of Yokohama.

[1] After a series of informal races were held on the location often referred to as the Swamp Ground, in 1866 the Negishi Racecourse was constructed to provide a more permanent site adjacent to the expanding Yamate residential district.

[2] Initially intended as an entertainment venue for the foreign community, the racecourse rapidly became popular with Japanese society; the Emperor Meiji himself visiting on 14 separate occasions.

The popularity of horse racing spread rapidly in the vicinity of other treaty ports; the Kobe Jockey Club following the Yokohama precedent, was established in 1870.

Early in the development of the sport Japan adopted an integrated approach to both thoroughbred breeding and racing.

The close financially supportive relationship between these two industries enabled both to grow significantly during the post Second World War economic boom.

For example, Cosmo Bulk (from Hokkaido Keiba) won the Singapore Airlines International Cup in 2006 as a NAR horse.

The trend began to change in the early 90s, when progeny of imported stallions, particularly Tony Bin (Italy), Brian's Time and Sunday Silence (both US), had remarkable success in both racing and breeding.

Some of them also have a successful breeding record outside Japan - the daughter of Deep Impact, Beauty Parlour won the French classic race, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 2012.

The top jockey in Japan is Yutaka Take, who is a multiple champion in his homeland and regularly rides Japanese horses in stakes races around the world.

Many world-class jockeys have taken an active part in Japanese horse racing using these short-term licenses, including Olivier Peslier, Christophe Soumillon, Mirco Demuro (elder brother of Cristian Demuro, who has also participated in JRA races), Christophe Lemaire, Craig Williams, Ryan Moore, Joao Moreira, Oisin Murphy, Damian Lane, and Bauyrzhan Murzabayev.

Other notable jockeys: (Note on Japanese words in the names; Kinen:Memorial, Hai:Cup, Sho:Prize, Yushun:excellent horse) The following races are designated as preliminaries for the Kentucky Derby.