Why is racing so popular in Japan?

Cover image courtesy of Japan Racing Horse Association

With the Australian spring carnival nearly here, global racing attendance is going up steadily for major Carnivals, putting expectations on our local marketing teams to follow suit. Royal Ascot’s attendance was up 2.7 per cent on the year before, and while the Epsom Derby was up slightly, it was still a long way down on the first post-COVID day.

Glorious Goodwood was reported as steady on the year before. Epsom’s numbers are hard to dissemble as many fans watch for free on the hill and aren’t included in the official numbers, and the record in 1898 of 750,000 is an estimate only.

Table: Attendance figures for major races globally

But one country has never had an attendance issue. Japan. Even with COVID restrictions in place and limited ticket sales (sold out), Japanese racing fans turned up in droves. More than just the numbers, it’s the vibe of their fans that makes them special. We’ve all seen the images of Japanese racing fans sprinting through the gates on Japan Cup Day to grab the best spot on the course. What makes their fans so keen?

Hero Is Coming

With the “Hero Is Coming” marketing campaign, the horse is the hero of Japan’s racing advertising. From there, fans can buy plushies of their favourite horses, and they hold retirement ceremonies for their champions.

“Professional sports rely on fans for success. It is then a natural progression for fans, once established, to have a passionate desire to see the heroes of their chosen sport perform live,” said Graham Pavey, Japan racing expert.

“What Japanese racing has done well is create fans of the sport, as opposed to creating punters / gamblers with an interest in the sport. The JRA and NAR marketing campaigns don’t promote or even mention the gambling side. Instead they promote the sport of racing and most importantly the heroes of the sport, in particular the horses then the jockeys.”

Pavey's current favourite JRA advertisment is 'Today, my story runs" seen in the tweet below.

“Fans, once created will punt, that is also a natural progression. So, what Japan has done so well is create a very large base of racing fans who love the sport and are in turn passionate about going to see their sport live.

“To get these fans, and their families and friends to continue attending, the racecourses in Japan provide an exciting and interesting attraction that caters amazingly for the varied needs of a wide demographic range.”

Not just crowds, but the vibe of the crowd too

“One of the most amazing things about the crowd sizes in Japan, especially pre-Covid before the JRA started having more complicated and restrictive rules for attendance particularly on big race days, is the atmosphere is the general race goer. They all bet something but you won’t see people dressed up in finery or boozing it up to a frat party level.

“They are not there to party or pose for Instagram, they are there for day out. You’ll see average people, often with their families or friends enjoying the day, the sport and the environment. Eating, drinking, laughing and betting. If the people do dress up it’s in t-shirt imitations of their favourite horse’s silks giving it a much more pro-sport vibe than any fascinator,” said Kate Hunter, President of Marugai Racing, and the Asian representative for Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and the Breeders’ Cup.

“It’s the same general crowd by appearance regardless the level of racing on each day, though with a Group 1, it really brings out the harder core racing fans. Especially now with the no general admission, seat lottery system they have put into place now, you’ve got to prepare a lot in advance if you even want to hope to get into the track now. Those hard core race fans again give it a real sport vibe in my opinion that tracks around the world lack. You get the impression that they likely cheer on their favourite baseball team the same way they do their favourite jockeys.

“Japanese racing organizations legally can’t market the betting aspect of racing outside of a few very specific avenues so most of their larger marketing campaigns focus on the horse and the social aspect in general of going to the races. This has helped keep a solid flow of younger people going racing regularly. They need the betting but they are able to achieve it and a loyal fan base by focusing on the general form of entertainment that racing is."

Images of drunken people after the Melbourne Cup, or Royal Ascot, have plagued racing in the media for years, and the mess left behind for course staff to clean up also doesn’t exist in Japan.

“While on track betting doesn’t really play a big roll in the overall turnover for Japan, you get a sense that people generally are enjoying themselves at the races and the attendance feels solid. Even on the most average of race days, the attendance feels so much healthier and vibrant than in the United States. Gone are the days of the six-figure attendance in Japan, a casualty of Covid & the new Group 1 day ticket lottery system but for each Group 1 you have a much healthier reliable crowd showing up.”

“While you won’t find the Kentucky Derby, Royal Ascot, Melbourne Cup like experience at the races here in Japan.. you get what I think most people actually deep down want from any sporting event…. A safe, clean environment with various entertainment options for an affordable price. Then the racing organizations get to laugh all the way to the bank with their record turnovers!”

A lesson for Australian racecourses heading into the spring – make the horse the hero of the story.