It has been 30 years since the first international raiders arrived on the scene for Victoria's Spring Racing Carnival. Andrew Eddy picks his top 30 performances.
In an unusual training regimen for Kentucky Derby contenders, Crown Pride canters perfect 20-meter circles behind the chute at Churchill Downs. He is composed, quiet and focused.
In horse racing, it is simply a fact that the strong win and the weak lose.
Each year, only 18 horses out of an entire generation get to compete in the glamorous Japanese Derby. This year, 7,398 3-year-olds competed fiercely for the privilege. But the sad fact outside the spotlight is those that quietly retire without ever finishing first outnumber those that do.
Under the rules of the Japan Racing Association, horses that win at least once by the summer of the year they turn 3 years old are allowed to compete in the following fall and beyond. Eventually, however, the moment arrives when all racehorses must retire, whether they are competing at Grade 1 the top tier of the system’s pyramidal structure or languishing at its base.
Some sports are specific to certain regions and thus gain a cultural cachet that those regions exploit.
Ban’ei keiba, a form of racing that features large draft horses pulling heavy sleds over a straight course, is unique to Hokkaido, a by-product of agricultural life there since the island was opened to development in the 19th century.
With the possible exception of its central role in the award-winning 2005 feature film “What the Snow Brings,” ban’ei racing has attracted little attention outside of Hokkaido, and even within the prefecture its star has been fading. Once there were ban’ei race tracks in four cities, but now the only one active is in Obihiro. Since the pandemic started, however, the sport’s popularity has increased considerably, especially among people who like to gamble.