The Mystique of Kyoto Racecourse

The Mystique of Kyoto Racecourse

By Hearst Schlitz III
The Ponyville Express
November 17, 2021

Kyoto Racecourse (京都競馬場 Kyōto-keibajō) is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. Kyoto Race Course has two turf courses, a dirt course, and a jump course.

The turf's outer oval (外回り sotomawari) measures 1894m (1 1/8 miles + 274 feet), and the inner oval (内回り uchimawari) measures 1783m (1 1/16 miles + 240 feet). A chute permits races to be run on either oval at distances between 1400m and 1800m. Races can be run on the "A Course" rail setting (on the hedge), the "B Course" setting (rail out 4 meters), the "C Course" setting (rail out 7 meters) or the "D Course" setting (rail out 10 meters).

The dirt course measures 1608 meters (4 feet less than 1 mile), with a 1400m chute.

The Kyōto Kinen (京都記念 Kyōto Kinen?) is a Grade II race in Japan that is open to international horses. It is held mid February at Kyoto Racecourse in Kyoto, Japan.

The race was first run in 1942. It was not run from 1944 to 1947 due to World War II. Initially the race was run over 3,500 metres (about 2 miles or 1.5 furlongs) and the present race is run over 2,200 metres (about 11 furlongs). Kyōto Kinen has been rated as a Grade II race since 1984 and was opened for foreign trained horses at that time, although foreign horses have never run the race until recently.

It is a popular prep race for Tenno Sho (spring). Takeshiba O, Ten Point, Biwa Hayahide and T M Opera O are horses that won both the Kyōto Kinen and the Tenno Sho. Some horses run this race before going to Dubai. In 2007, Admire Moon won this race and the Dubai Duty Free.