Japanese Horse Racing Quickly Rising To Elite Levels

In 2019, Master Fencer became the first Japanese bred horse to run in the Kentucky Derby. Since then Japanese horse racing has quickly seen massive success.

History of Horse Racing in Japan

Horse racing in Japan has been around since the mid 1800s. The racing as as we know it today was brought in by Europeans. The primary purpose of the races was to be an attraction for out of towners, but the sport quickly took off within the country.

In the 1950s Japanese horse racing took advantage of a phase of great economic growth. The sport’s popularity accelerated in the post-war era and the Japanese Racing Association was created 1954

In 1981 Japanese horse racing started to attract more international attention with the creation of the Japan Cup.

Seeking Winners on the Biggest Stage

In 1991 Japanese connections started their push to improve their standing on the world’s biggest stage. The first step was the purchasing of Sunday Silence to stand at stud in Japan. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner is one of the most dominant sire lines in Japan today.

In 1995 the first Japanese based horse came over for the Kentucky Derby. Ski Captain was of little consequence in that race. In 2019 Master Fencer became the first Japanese bred horse to participate in the Kentucky Derby.

Slowly but surely Japanese horse racing continued to become more and more competitive. With a organized horse racing association overseeing all races, a crazed fan base, and a strong investment in the sport, Japan is finally starting to see the fruits of their labors.

Banner Year for Japanese Horse Racing

In any quest for greatness there are often periods of great growth followed by significant plateaus. It seems that 2021 and 2022 are the watershed years that have officially made Japan a major player in the horse racing industry.

2021 Breeders’ Cup

Coming into the 2021 Breeders’ Cup their were some highly touted Japanese horses, but some couldn’t get passed one glaring fact, the Japanese had failed to menace at this event every year to this point.

With the weight of a nation’s horse racing industry on her back Loves Only You won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. It was the nation’s first ever win at the event. Only 3 races later another Japanese horse would come through. Marche Lorraine provided a massive upset in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

The question was asked, has Japanese horse racing finally arrived? The subsequent moths have suggested that the answer was a resounding yes.

2022 Saudi Cup

The 2022 Saudi Cup card from Riyadh further established the strength of the runners coming out of Japan. On the night Japanese runners took first in four of the prestigious stakes races.

• Stay Foolish won the Red Sea Turf Stakes
• Authority on the Neom Turf Cup
• Dancing Prince won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint Stakes
• Songlines won the 1351 Sprint Stakes

Not long after their sights were set to Dubai for races on the Dubai World Cup Card.

Dubai World Cup

The 2022 Dubai World Cup took place on Saturday, March 26 and the Japanese had over 20 horses entered on the card. Of the 9 races a Japanese horse hit the board in 7.

The day started early with a massive upset in the 2nd race. Bathrat Leon won the Godolphin Mile at an incredible 60-1! Another Japanese horse, Soliste Thunder would finish in 4th. The Japanese contingent made it a double when Stay Foolish won the Dubai Gold Cup in race #3.

The lone Japanese horse failed to hit the board in race 4, but that would be the last time the Asian nation would be kept off the board. Crown Pride could be a Kentucky Derby runner after winning the UAE Derby which part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

In race #6 Red Le Zele and Chain of Love would 2nd and 4th respectively in the Golden Shaheen Stakes. The Japanese path to the winner circle was trodden once again as Panthalassa would win the Dubai Turf. Fellow country horse Vin De Gorde finished 3rd.

In the penultimate race, the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic would see Japanese horses run 1st and 3rd as Shahryar won with the aforementioned Authority rounding out the trifecta.

The grand daddy of them all was the Dubai World Cup and the lone Japanese horse did not look to have a strong hand. Despite breaking the gate as the 4th choice, Chuwa Wizard was far less fancied than the heavy favorite Life is Good. Despite being a generous 12-1, Chuwa Wizard finished third in $12 million race.

With this string of results it is impossible not to respect Japan as a major player in the international horse racing landscape.

Betting on Japanese Horse Racing

With this increased influence in the international racing scene shrewd players may want to start paying a little more attention to the day in day out racing in Japan. The reality is that the product does have many advantages over the American horse racing market.

Advantages of Japanese Horse Racing

While there are two governing horse racing bodies in Japan, the one that most players will be wagering on is the Japan Racing Association or JRA. The other governing body oversees a network of more local courses that is not available on many of the online wager platforms.

Few Days, More Consistency

The JRA represents consistency across racing, something American racing is badly in need of. Because all 10 JRA tracks run under 1 governing body, the schedule is much more consistent. Races are only run on Saturday and Sunday and cards have exactly 12 races each.

Massive Interest

Horse racing is seeing a boom of business. Nowhere is a fan base more eager to get involved in the betting markets than some of the emerging Asian markets such as Japan and Hong Kong. This is good news for bettors.

On March 21, 2022 the Grade 3 Flower Cup saw a total of $45,920,366.90 bet on a single race. Compare that to the entire 13 race card on March 5th from Gulfstream Park. The card featured 9 stakes races including a Kentucky Derby prep race and brought in a total handle of $32,635,307 across all races. More money in the pools means more lucrative payouts.

Get Involved

There is a bit of learning curve when American horse racing fans start playing Japanese horse racing. Many characteristics remain the same, but there are some different terminologies that will take some getting used to including the fact that races are measured in meters and not furlongs.

For a guide to Japanese Horse Racing, Horse Racing Japan has a great beginners guide on their website.

Japanese races can be bet from most of the major online platforms including TVG, Twinspires, and DRF Bets.