Cross Breeds

What are the big thoroughbred horse races in Japan?

I mean whats their equivalent of our American Breeder's Cup and how much is the purse? Also whose the best Japanese jockey? Corey Nakatani is really the only Japanese jockey i know of.

Public Comments

1. Japan conducts more than 21,000 horse races a year in one of three types: flat racing, jump racing (races over hurdles), and Ban'ei Racing (also called Draft Racing). There are a total of thirty racetracks in Japan. Ten of these tracks are known as "central tracks", where most of Japan's top races are conducted. Races at these ten tracks are conducted by the Japan Racing Association (JRA), which operates under the oversight of the Japanese government. The remaining twenty tracks are operated by municipal racing authorities and run under the affiliation of the National Association of Racing (NAR). Two tracks, Sapporo Racecourse and Chukyo Racecourse, run separate meetings under either JRA or NAR jurisdiction. The JRA purse structure is one of the richest in the world. As of 2007[update], a typical JRA maiden race for three year olds carries a purse of ¥9.55 million (about US$83,000), with ¥5 million (about US$43,000) paid to the winner. Purses for graded stakes races begin at around ¥75 million (about US$650,000). Japan's top stakes races are run in the spring and autumn. The country's most prominent race is the Grade 1 Japan Cup, a 2,400 m (about 1 1/2 mile) invitational grass race run every November at Tokyo Racecourse for a purse of ¥530 million (about US$5.4 million), currently the richest turf race in the world. Other noted stakes races include the February Stakes, Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Yasuda Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen, and the Tenno Sho races run in the spring and fall. The Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun and Kikuka Sho comprise the Japanese Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Japan's top jump race is the Nakayama Grand Jump, run every April at Nakayama Racecourse. Instead of running over a large course as is the case in other countries, the course for the 4,250 m (about 2 5/8 mile) Nakayama Grand Jump follows a twisted path on the inside portion of Nakayama's racing ovals. The race carries a purse of ¥170 million (about US$1.4 million). 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. Yutaka Take was the regular jockey for Deep Impact, JRA's two time Horse of the Year (2005–06). The US racehorse Sunday Silence had remarkable success as a sire in Japan, as the number one sire for about 10 years, with progeny winning the Japan Cup many times, the Hong Kong Vase and the Melbourne Cup. Here are some links for more information.. Basic information. http://www.japanracing.jp/ Types of races _ http://japanracing.jp/japan/pdf/horseracing_11.pdf Trainers & Jockeys - http://japanracing.jp/japan/nargp-2008.html