Tokyo Racecourse

Renovated Tokyo Racecourse may play a role in deciding this year's Japan Cup winner

Hong Kong racegoers will again have the chance to watch and wager on the Japan Cup to be beamed live from Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, 30 November.

Tokyo Racecourse boasts the best and largest facilities of the ten racing venues under the management of the Japan Racing Association (JRA). It is expected that a crowd of over 100,000 will be attracted to the racecourse on Japan Cup Day.

The racecourse was built in 1933, and 21 years later in 1954 the JRA was set up with government funding as a semi-public body to operate domestic racing. It is now the home of Japan's most prestigious races, including the Japanese Derby, the Yasuda Kinen, the Japanese Oaks and the Emperor's Cup (Autumn).

The oval track occupies an area of 199 acres and measures 2,119 metres in circumference. The Japan Cup is run on the turf track, which is 25 to 35 metres wide.

The racecourse has undergone renovations recently bringing changes to not only the stands but also the track itself. These changes, which have been shown to affect the way races unfold, may well play a role in deciding the winner of this year's Japan Cup.

The start of a 2,400-metre race, now placed just after the homestretch hill, begins on the flat and has resulted in faster earlier times. The first bend is now wider, more sweeping, though this is not believed to affect the outcome of races. The draw, due to both bends being wider than before, is not seen to be of great concern at Tokyo. Foreign riders, however, who are expected to stick to the rail far more than the Japanese jockeys, could pose traffic problems coming into the stretch for those who dare to stay wide. Such added competition, not only equine but human as well, makes the Japan Cup one of the year's most unpredictable races for Japanese trackmen and fans alike.

The biggest change, perhaps, comes at the final bend. Where, previously, horses quickened here as they moved into the stretch, recent races have shown the pace to fall as horses take a breather. The reason for this development is the extension of the homestretch by 25.5 metres, making it just short of 530 metres. Successful jockeys, those who can keep their cool at the psychologically stressful top of the straight, are giving the go sign later. Those who move early are likely to end up short in the long stretch.

That said, frontrunners, such as Japan's Tap Dance City, are seen to have gained an advantage with the lengthened stretch. Three out of the 10 races run at 2,400 metres from the spring, when the newly renovated track reopened, have seen wire-to-wire winners. The condition of the turf in the Tokyo stretch is expected to be excellent and that, coupled with the momentum to be had after gaining the top of the stretch slope, make frontrunners difficult to catch if they maintain their lead to a late enough stage in the race.