Speed is not everything at one racecourse in Japan, where the unpredictable stop-and-start drama of the world’s slowest horse race has drawn new fans eager to bet on their sturdy favorite.
A fanfare plays, the gates flip open and they are off — but at a plod rather than a gallop, pulling heavy sleighs in a tradition that harks back more than a century.
The Banei Keiba races are held in Obihiro, a city in northern Japan’s Hokkaido, where spectators cheer on the muscular workhorses moving at the pace of a brisk human walk.
Photo: AFP
Eight equine competitors kicked up dust on a recent afternoon as they powered over the first of two mounds on the 200m track.
However, they soon began to stop, taking the first of several breaks to catch their breath, which billowed in the winter air.
The slow progress “builds a little bit of suspense,” 24-year-old Australian tourist Esther McCourt said, marveling at the horses’ size.
Photo: AFP
“No matter how good people or horses look in the beginning, the crucial part is the last 50m, so it can change at any time,” she said.
The popularity of Banei Keiba had dwindled until renewed marketing efforts coincided with a surge of interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people began to watch the races and place bets online.
Those casual gamblers along with dedicated fans have boosted the event’s annual sales to ¥55.5 billion (US$373.5 million) — a fivefold increase from their low point in 2011.
Banei Keiba developed when Japanese settlers migrated to Hokkaido, a sparsely populated island with long, bitter winters.
They relied on horses known as banba to clear fields, transport goods and operate mines, and would pit them against each other in tug-of-war games and other contests at local festivals.
Banba are twice as heavy as racing thoroughbreds, and the sleighs they tug weigh more than 600kg.
Jockeys standing on the sleighs shout and whip the horses with long reins to keep them going.
Trainers such as Yoshiyuki Hattori deny any accusations of cruelty, saying the strong creatures are treated with care and are not forced to pull loads above their capacity.
“If thoroughbreds were born to run, banba were bred to haul things,” said Hattori, whose horses have won many race trophies.
“They worked in fields. They worked for us. We want to continue this history,” he said.
For Hattori, Banei races are “more dynamic” than the “visual experience” of regular horse racing.
“This moves you physically as you cheer,” he said.
Three other cities in the region used to host similar races, but they all stopped under mountains of debt in 2006.
The long-stagnant Japanese economy had hit Banei Keiba hard, and the regular punters who kept it going were getting older.
Obihiro Racecourse, now the tradition’s sole custodian, made efforts to attract more young families and tourists by cleaning up the facility and making it smoke-free.
They set up a mini zoo and launched marketing campaigns including tie-ups with popular smartphone games to rejuvenate the attraction.
Now there are about 750 horses taking part in the races, kept by 28 trainers, 150 caretakers and 21 jockeys.
One of the caretakers, 21-year-old Yuno Goto, was busy attaching pale pink and blue fluffy bows and ribbons on a banba’s mane ahead of the race.
She said she dreams of becoming a jockey one day, and called the event “a great opportunity to expose people to this culture and to provide a different experience from other horse races.”
Spectator Taichi Yamada, 27, who moved to the region last year, also said knowing the race’s origins adds to its appeal.
“This is a form of interaction between humans and animals. I hope it will continue as a piece of history,” he said. “It must be tough for horses to pull this much weight. You can’t help but cheer for them.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their