Horse racing in Japan the post Second World War economic boom. The Japan Racing Association was formally established in 1954. The Japan Cup, one of the richest horse races in the world, was inaugurated in 1981. Run at Tokyo's Fuchu Racecourse on the last Sunday in November, it continues to attract thoroughbreds from all over the world. The JRA manages the ten main tracks in Japan. Races at these tracks are called "Chuo Keiba" (meaning "central horse racing"). It provides some of the richest racing in the world. , a typical JRA maiden race for three-year-olds carried a purse of ¥9.55 million (about US$112,000),
Horse racing in Japan Japan. Japan's top stakes races are run in the spring, autumn, and winter; the top race is the Japan Cup. The history of equestrian sports and horse racing in Japan goes back many centuries, but it was not until the Spring of 1862 that the first horse race in a recognizably European format was organized by a group of British residents on an area of drained marshland just outside the recently opened treaty port of Yokohama. After a series of informal races were held on the location often referred to as the Swamp Ground, in 1866 the Negishi Racecourse was