JRA announces racing will continue behind closed doors under tighter measures

The Japan Racing Association announced on Wednesday it will continue to hold meetings behind closed doors as large parts of the country adjust to new measures introduced under a state of emergency.

The JRA has tightened its own measures to counter the spread of Covid-19, while giving the go-ahead for the first Classic of the season, the Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) at Hanshin on Sunday.

The state of emergency announced by prime minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday hands additional security powers to regional governments in a number of prefectures in and around Tokyo and other densely populated central areas of the country.

Won by Gran Alegria 12 months ago, the Japanese 1,000 Guineas (Oka Sho) takes place at Hanshin on SundayCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

From this weekend jockeys will have to serve their pre-race quarantine in personal "certified adjustment rooms", rather than in communal co-ordination quarters at the tracks.

Japan is famous for putting its jockeys in lockdown before racing, a measure designed to prevent any hint of corruption rather than the spread of disease.

In addition, from Saturday, April 18, jockeys will not be able to ride at two different courses over the period of a single weekend. This means any riders with intended mounts in next Sunday's Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) will not have the option of taking rides on Hanshin's Arlington Cup card a day earlier.

Further measures were announced around the movement of horses – and therefore stable staff – designed to reduce traffic between the JRA's main western training centre at Ritto and its eastern base at Miho.

Horses entered at below stakes level will have to be campaigned in their own sector of the country until measures are reviewed at the beginning of May.

The JRA's huge Shiodome Wins betting shop is currently closed to punters, though turnover remains strong through online and phone wageringCredit: Lee Mottershead

Japanese racing fans may be starved of a trip to the races – or indeed off-track betting offices – but they continue to watch and bet in large numbers from home.

When the public was excluded over the first weekend of March, betting turnover across all meetings was 82 per cent of the 2019 figure, a result which held at 83 per cent the following weekend.

Several key races – including Mozu Superflare's win in the Takamasunomiya Kinen and the Hanshin Daishoten won by You Can Smile – actually posted increased turnover from 12 months ago despite all business being conducted online or by phone.

As well as the domestic action this weekend, the JRA is offering simulcast betting on Danon Premium's challenge for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney.

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