Welcome to Kawasaki Horse Racing

Specially raised and trained horses will race at an entertainment facility that has been mainly developed in England, France, and America. You predict which horses will come first, second, and third, and vote for pre-selected horse numbers. You could win much more money than you gamble.

Big races held in Japan are called graded races and they include the famous Japanese derby and Arima Kinen. The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France, the Dubai World Cup meeting, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in America are known as the three biggest races in the world.

It is said that Japan’s first ever horse race was staged at the foreign settlement in Yokohama during the late Edo period. So the sport’s history goes back to a time when the samurai still existed in Japan. The oldest horse racing material available is about the race in Moto-machi, Naka-ku, Yokohama City in 1860. Land tracks were later created at the landfill site, which was located within the settlement around 5-chome Aioi-machi, Naka-ku, Yokohama City, where Western-style horse racing took place. The first Western-style horse racing was at Yokohama Nitta Racecourse and was operated by the Yokohama Race Committee. This was organized by foreigners in the settlement. Yokohama Racecourse was then established by the Edo Shogunate as a permanent racecourse in Negishi, Isogo-ku, Yokohama City. The site is now used as the Negishi Forest Park, where there is an equine museum that contains historical exhibits from the past.

Current horse racing is divided into central horse races run by the country, and regional horse races run by the different prefectures and cities. The Kawasaki Racecourse is operated by Kanagawa Prefecture and Kawasaki City, and also partially by Kawasaki Racing Association. Horse racing was merely gambling in the past but it is now turning into an entertainment and sightseeing spot where you can spend time with your family and enjoy the occasion while watching the horse racing.