re: Running to the Japanese Derby

Qatmom — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:18:37 GMT

This sounds like enormous amounts of fun. Just being at a major race with enthusiastic fans would be a wonderful change. I rarely tell people anymore that I am a fan of horse racing, because the sport is completely off the radar of most Americans, and a lot of them have a deeply negative view of the game.

re: Running to the Japanese Derby

The Rock — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:45:23 GMT

Kate. This is an awesome article. I enjoy the racing out there. I was first introduced into Japanese Racing in my teens through a video game called "Winning Post". The racing calendar that was used than is very close to the modern day calendar. The object of the game was to get an invitation to the Arc', (in the game its known as the Paris Grand Prix). You really needed a super horse in order to get invited. Winning the Triple Crown & the Japan cup as a 3 year old will definitley help your case.

I really hope that some day, American racing will take a page out of what the JRA does in order to have a successful industry. I agree that we have too many G1 races here in the states. Being from the West Coast, the Big Cap, Pacific Classic & Hollywood Gold Cup were races every worthy horse across the country would die to get into, not a horse that just won a non winners of 2 lifetime. These races need to feel unique in its own right just as they were back in the day. I will say that the creation of the Breeders Cup is probably what killed the luster for the majority of these G1 races. But as a gambler, I love the Breeders Cup program. So i'm torn.

I think if we can get all of the racetracks across the country unified as one big american "JRA", we can unify the rules of the game, which will lead to less friction amongst each racing state. And that's just for starters. Let's hope for the best.

re: Running to the Japanese Derby

Karen — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:18:53 GMT

Very interesting...thanks for the insight into Japanese racing!