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Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/9/18 22:32
Thanks for looking at my question.

I enjoy going to watch horse racing in my home country (the UK), and from looking at http://japanracing.jp/en/go-racing/index.html I can see that there will be racing in Tokyo and in Kanazawa when we're in those cities this October/November.

Can anyone tell me whether it's a good day out to go racing in Japan, please? Does anyone have any comparison between the customer experience (and the quality of racing) in Japan versus that in the UK?

I'm pretty keen to go, but time on the holiday schedule is quite tight and so I'd probably choose not to go if the tracks are old and tired, and the quality of racing is not all that good. I know that there is high quality racing in Japan, but I don't know what to expect if I turn up at either Tokyo to see the Grade 2 race on 3 Nov (http://japanracing.jp/_races/2013races/1103argentina.html ), or at Kanazawa on a Wednesday for a normal race meeting.

Any help gratefully received. Thanks very much.
by Winter Visitor (guest)  

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/9/19 21:19
not sure the dates you will visit Japan but, I recommend you to go and see a Grade 1(G-one) race if you go.
The tenno sho race(the Emperor's Price Race, G1) will be held on 27th October at Tokyo House Race Course, and Japan Cup will be held on 24th November at Tokyo Horse Race course. The both races are one of the most popular races throughout a year therefore 80,000-100,000 fans will gather at the race course stadium. You need to pay 200 YEN each time to go into Tokyo Horse Race Course as entrance fees no matter you go betting or not. Every time you go to Tokyo Horse Race Course, you need pay 200 YEN. That's something different from the UK races. Tokyo Horse Race Course is located in the west side of Tokyo, can be accessed from Shinjuku Station by Keio line.

You can also go to evening horse races at Oi horse race course in Tokyo(east side). It called "Twinkle race". Twinkle race will be held between 1st October - 4th October, 14th October - 18th October, 4th November - 8th November, 24th November - 29th November. The door will open at 14:20(except Sunday and National holiday), the first race begins between 15:00 - 16:00, the main race begins around 20:10, the final race begins around 20:40. It cost you 100 YEN to go into Oi horse race course each time, no matter you go betting or not. I like evening horse races, it nice view horses running at night. But there is no famous/popular horses and jockeys will run at Oi horse race course.
by tokyo friend 48 rate this post as useful

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/9/19 22:04
Thanks very much.

I can either go to Kanazawa on 29 Oct (which, I guess, will be lower grade racing? Would I expect many people to be there on a Tuesday in the daytime?), or I can go and see a grade 2 race in Tokyo on Sunday 3 Nov (a better class of racing. Would I expect big crowds at a meeting like this?).

Thanks a lot.
by Winter Visitor (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/9/27 19:35
[bump] Are there no racing fans who can answer my question?

Please?
by Winter Visitor rate this post as useful

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/10/1 12:35
I can't compare with UK racing but i'm assuming it is somewhat similar to racing in Australia.
Quite a few races in Australia are very large social events with lie music and off track events so people get dressed up, drink a lot, gamble a lot and have a good time. The horse racing is just an added bonus. My experiences at Fuchu were that people were there to gamble and it wasn't really a social event. Probably similar to an 'out of season' race day.
Don't get me wrong, it was still enjoyable and worth the visit. The form guide was ridiculous though. I've never seen so many roughies and out of form horses win!
by halfnhalf rate this post as useful

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/10/2 18:04
Thanks, halfnhalf.

Betting is regulated very loosely in the UK, and an adult has plenty of chances to bet if they want to, without going anywhere near a racecourse.

Broadly speaking, this means that racedays are (i) feature days with high-class racing, big crowds, and a great atmosphere, or (ii) very quiet days at smaller courses with fairly poor quality racing, or (iii) poor/medium quality racing, but where the courses put on other sorts of entertainment (bands, funfairs, etc) to draw in the crowds.

I'm guessing that a Grade 3 race at Fuchu will be type (i) sort of affair. I've been able to find a bit of info on Fuchu, and it sounds like a good experience with plenty on offer for the family. However, we're more likely to have spare time in Kanazawa, and I was wondering whether going racing there on a Tuesday would be a type (ii) experience or a type (iii).
by Winter Visitor (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Horse racing in Tokyo or Kanazawa 2013/10/25 23:33
Hello, I'm a very big fan of racing.
On the 27th/Oct ,There is a group 1 race called Tenno sho(emperor's cup) at the Tokyo racecourse
by Hiroki (guest) rate this post as useful

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