| Racecouse in Japan | There are many racecourses and 2 major organization in Japan. 1)JRA (Japan Racing Association) This is a corporation having special status (under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) and operates national horse racing. This is called Chu-ou keiba (direct translating : central horseracing). They have 10 racecourses(city, Prefecture) Sapporo(Hokkaido), Hakodate(Hokkaido), Fukushima(Fukushima),Niigata(Niigata), Nakayama(Funabashi,Chiba), Tokyo(,Fuchu,Tokyo), Chukyo(Nagoya,Aichi), Kyoto(Kyoto), Hanshin(Nishinomiya,Hyogo), Kokura(Fukuoka) Tokyo racecourse is the venue for Japan Derby, Japan Cup and many other graderaces. Most of Grade 1 races are held in Tokyo, Nakayama, Kyoto and Hanshin racecourse. 2)NAR(National Association of Racing) This is also a corporation having special status (under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) and oparates horseracing with the local government (authority). This is called Chihou-keiba (municipally operated horseracing). Many racecourses in Japan. For details, please see JRA(Japan Racing Association) or JAIR(Japan Association for International Horseracing) homepage. |
| Horseracing in Japan | The horseracing (Chu-ou Keiba, operated by JRA) is besically held on every
Saturday and Sunday. The post time of first race is normally around 10:00am. The main race(ie. graded race) is normally one race before the last race(around 3:30pm). The racing program is free of charge. You can get it around the racecourse entrance. The program written in English may be prepared so please ask the infromation center about the availability. Most of the races are flat racing. Jump race is 0 or 1 race in one day. The outside course is turf course and inside is dirt track. The jump course is normally inside of dirt course and finally uses finish line on the turf or durt course. |
| How to bet (JRA) |
There are some type of betting in Japan. But to avoid arousing the passion
for gambling, the type is not so much compared with other country. In Japan, the the number assigned to each horses is the same as the post position.(inside post position is assigned as No.1) There are many windows to bet in the racecourse. Basically, betting card is used when betting. You can get the Betting Card (called "mark card" in Japanese) around the window. You should mark it in advance then hand the betting card with money to the person in the window. Some window is put the betting macine. You should insert moner first, then insert the betting card. The betting ticket is issued automatically. In cese you need to receive any change, please push the button for change. Then the ticket is issued and the change is returned. If you have any question, please ask the person in charge of guidance. You will find them soon. |
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| Type of bet (Japanese) |
select | |
Win (Tan-sho) |
select horse number that places first. | |
Show (Fuku-sho) |
select horse number that places first, second or third in a race | |
Eight bracket quinella (Wakuban ren-sho) |
select two bracket numbers that place first and second(The order doesn't matter). The number is assigned from 1 to 8. Check the program or paper. | |
Horse number quinella (Umaban ren-sho) |
select two horse numbers that place first and second (The order doesn't matter). | |
Quinella place (Wide) |
select two horse numbers that place first and second, or second and third, or first and third. | |
| *From July 2002, some new type of betting has been available! (see below) | ||
Exacta (Uma-Tan) |
select two horse numbers that place first and second with exact order | |
Trio (San-Ren-Puku) |
select three horse numbers that place first, second and third(The order doesn't matter) | |
| *From September 2004, a new type of betting has been available! (see below) | ||
Trifecta (San-Ren-Tan) |
select three horse numbers that place first, second and third with exact order | |
 This is just a sample so you must not mix the type of betting.(Please use another card or if you bet on the same race, you can use reverse side.) |
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| How to get to Tokyo racecourse | From central Tokyo area : Take Keio(same pronunciation as K.O=knock out) line from Shinjuku station to Fuchu Keiba Seimon mae(=Fuchu(Tokyo) racecourse main gate front). Direct express: There is the direct express service on racing day Limited express: change at Chofu station, then take express or local to Higashi-fuchu, then take branch line to Fuchu Keiba Seimon mae. It costs \540 to round trip from/to Shinjuku station. Admission to Tokyo(Fuchu) racecourse: \200/person (as of Y2K) Please also refer to the JRA Tokyo racecourse guide in English. |
| How to get to Nakayama racecourse | From central Tokyo area : Take JR Sobu line or Tozai line(Subway) to Nishi-Funabashi Station. Then take the bus to the racetrack(for the place in front of the stand) or JR Musashino line to Funabashi-Hoten Station. It is the next station located at the back straight side. It will take 10 or 15 minutes to the main stand on foot). Admission to Nakayama racecourse: \200/person (as of Y2K) After the last race, around Nakayama area sometimes would be crowded by heavy traffic congestion. So the bus may not move smoothly. In such case, you should use the train from Funabashi-Hoten Station or go to Nishi-Funabashi Station on foot(it will take over 30 minutes but would be faster than using bus...) Please also refer to the JRA Nakayama racecourse guide in English. |
 You will pass Nishi-Funabashi station without stopping when you go to Tokyo station using NEX (Narita Airport Express). |
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| glossary | English : Japanese |
| Horseracing : Keiba | |
| Racing paper : Keiba shinbun | |
| Penniless : Okera | |
| Betting ticket : Baken | |
| odds over 100 times : Man Baken | |
| The favorite( Most likely to win) : Honmei | |
| Outsider : Ana uma | |
| Horse : Uma | |
| Turf : Shiba | |
| Grade race : Jusho | |